Italian sprint talent Davide Stella shows why UAE are promoting him to WorldTour in 2027

Davide Stella has won stage 3 of the Tour de l’Avenir. The Italian from UAE Team Emirates Gen Z came through a long 230-kilometre day before finishing the job in the sprint, beating Thomas Capra of Bahrain Victorious and Poland’s Dawid Lewandowski. Stella will step up to UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s WorldTour squad in 2027.

Belgian and Dutch riders had already enjoyed success during the opening two days of the Tour de l’Avenir. Niels Driesen of Lotto-Intermarché defeated pre-race favourite Lorenzo Finn on the demanding opening stage, before Dutchman Keije Solen won a second stage that was marred by a serious crash. Driesen nevertheless retained the overall leader’s jersey.

Like stage 2, the third stage was very flat, although there were still a few small hills in the finale of the whopping 230-kilometre stage. Would those climbs and the distance play a role? Four riders broke away early. Once again Matthew Dodd (Netcompany INEOS) was among them, as was Victor Loulergue (Groupama-FDJ). The pair were 36 seconds down in the general classification.

Heimo Fugger (UAE Team Emirates Gen Z) and Wil Holmes (Hagens Berman Jayco) had also slipped into the move. They held on for a long time, but behind them the action picked up again with around 80 kilometres remaining. It wasn't the sprinters' teams driving the pace, but rather a fresh wave of attacks. Among them, Ashlin Barry (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Jasper Schoofs (Soudal Quick-Step) got away as part of a five-rider group.

They joined the breakaway, where Dodd and Timothée Coudière-Cantin (France) attacked again. The rest were swallowed up, while the remaining duo were given a little more room by the peloton, although their advantage was only twenty seconds. With 25 kilometres remaining, riders in the bunch once again began to attack. Said Cisneros (Soudal Quick-Step) managed to get away on his own and then passed the leaders.

He was later joined by Magnus Carstensen (EF Education-Aevolo). The Mexican and the Dane had a lead of around 25 seconds, but more attackers continued to try their luck. Those attempts came to nothing, yet the peloton, with Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe setting the pace, was not getting any closer to the two riders out front. They were working well together.

With 2.5 kilometres remaining, the gap was still 25 seconds. That final section continued to rise slightly, which undoubtedly hurt. In the final kilometre, however, the peloton finally got going and the leaders' advantage melted away. They were caught just before the sprint, after which it was Davide Stella, who will ride at WorldTour level for UAE Team Emirates-XRG next year, who powered to victory.

1. Davide Stella
2. Thomas Capra
3. Dawid Lewandowski