After two short categorised climbs shortly after the start, the rest of the third stage was flat. Four riders attacked and built up a significant gap. The peloton caught them well before the finish.

According to sports director Addy Engels, things got a bit more nervous. "It was a quiet stage with a small lead group, as we predicted. Things got more hectic when that group was caught with over 30 kilometres to go. There were a lot of fast corners in the last ten kilometres.”

"Serious crashes showed how hectic the final was. But our riders said that everything went well. Luckily, we stayed out of trouble and finished well”, the sports director said.

Vader, leader of the Visma | Lease a Bike team in the Australian stage race, finished in the top twenty of the day's results thanks to the team's good work. "The aim is not to interfere in the sprint, but Milan needs to be as close to the finish as possible every day. If there is only a small time difference in the final classification, it is the stage results that count, and it is better to finish close to the winner of the day”, Engels said.

Another bunch sprint is expected tomorrow before the Tour Down Under concludes with two mountaintop finishes over the weekend. Engels: "So far, we have finished three times in a big group. These are difficult days for us because we don't have a pure sprinter here. The goal is to get the best possible result with Milan. We have to make sure we come out strong at the weekend.”