Van Poppel celebrates, but is relegated after blocking Brennan: leader Waerenskjold gifted the win

The tough second stage had already delivered a fine GC battle, where Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) got the upper hand by surprising Riley Sheehan (Israel-Premier Tech), who celebrated too early. But the leader’s jersey went to third-placed Søren Waerenskjold, who had also won the prologue. Stage three was another difficult one, with plenty of climbing in the short hills toward Kassel.

Three riders attacked early, but Enzo Leijnse (Picnic PostNL), Marco Haller (Tudor) and Jannik Steimle (Q36.5) did not manage to really maintain a gap. The middle phase of the race featured the most climbs, where UAE Team Emirates-XRG inflicted serious damage. Their goal was to drop the sprinters, and it worked fairly well: names like Alexander Kristoff, Maikel Zijlaard, Phil Bauhaus, Jordi Meeus, and Jonathan Milan were dropped.

Visma | Lease a Bike also started pulling, and with 80 kilometers to go, only 40 riders remained in the bunch. Milan tried hard to get back, but eventually gave up, meaning we were guaranteed a new overall winner. Van Poppel was also dropped, but his group managed to return. A bonus sprint was won by Matthew Brennan, ahead of Wout van Aert, both collecting valuable seconds.

Leader Waerenskjold was still in the mix: the 95-kilogram Norwegian held strong, even against another attack from the combative Leijnse. The peloton shattered, but Waerenskjold stayed calm, and the remaining 30 riders stayed together. The later climbs caused little further damage, so all eyes turned to the finale. A bonus sprint on a nasty hill just 3 kilometers from the finish added chaos.

That moment turned the stage upside down: Visma | Lease a Bike and UAE Team Emirates-XRG launched lead-outs, while Van Poppel and Waerenskjold also fought for position at the front. Tudor worked for Marius Mayrhofer, and Israel-Premier Tech lined up for Sheehan. But Sheehan was outmaneuvered: Waerenskjold timed his move well, only for Narváez to squeeze past and take the virtual lead. Then came the final dash to the line.

For a moment it looked like the same trio from Friday might get away, but Van Aert buried himself with a two-kilometer lead-out for Brennan. Brennan, however, got boxed in. Waerenskjold launched first, but Van Poppel surged past him. The Dutchman crossed the line first, but had heavily impeded Brennan... something that would have consequences.

It took a long time for the decision to come, but with a dejected Van Poppel speaking to the commissaires, the outcome was clear. The victory was awarded to Waerenskjold, not the Dutchman.