Olav Kooij gets revenge on Tim Merlier to win a frantic stage 3 of the Tour of Britain

Olav Kooij won the third stage of the Tour of Britain. The Dutch rider from Decathlon CMA CGM was far too strong for Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) on a tough uphill stretch. With this victory, he got his revenge for the previous day, when the Belgian had beaten him by a length in the sprint.

On day one, it was Lewis Askey (NSN) who took control in a tricky stage that ended with a cobbled climb. The Brit held his ground amid the echelons a day later: a thinned-out peloton sprinted for the win, and it was Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) who claimed victory in dominant fashion. Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM) finished a distant second but would be hoping for redemption in the third stage.

The stage wasn’t particularly difficult either. Sure, there were quite a few tricky hills in the middle section of the race to Beverley, but those wouldn’t normally have any bearing on the race’s outcome. The same was true of the early breakaway group, a six-man escape. Three Belgians were in it: Dylan Vandestorme (Flanders-Baloise), Gianni Marchand, and Arne Santy (Tarteletto-Isorex).

However, that group of six didn’t get much room to work with. The terrain was often open in the hills, so there were once again concerns about the wind. Filippo Ganna (Netcompany INEOS) had missed the breakaway on Thursday due to mechanical trouble, but this time he was the hammer, not the nail. He hammered at the front, but couldn’t break up the peloton. It did, however, spell the end for the breakaway group with just under sixty kilometers to go.

Tarteletto-Isorex, however, wasn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet and sent Yorben Lauryssen to the front. The Belgian had plenty of space. Conn McDunphy (APS) and Ward Vanhoof (Flanders-Baloise) tried to close the gap, but realized the Belgian was truly strong: they couldn’t catch up. The gap to the peloton quickly grew, exceeding two minutes.

That rascal Lauryssen kept pushing hard and still had a nice lead as he entered the final twenty kilometers. Soudal Quick-Step, Decathlon CMA CGM, and NSN all had to send riders out to close the gap. In the final fifteen kilometers, the Belgian’s strength finally began to wane, and with six kilometers to go, his adventure was over.

But it wouldn’t be a sprinter’s stage in Great Britain without an attack from UAE Team Emirates-XRG. They tried a surprise attack, but against the entire peloton, it was a lost cause. It came down to a sprint on a tough uphill stretch, and Merlier was positioned perfectly there. It was Kooij, however, who got his revenge with a sprint from the back of the pack.

1. Olav Kooij
2. Tim Merlier
3. Axel Källberg