With five categorized climbs spread out over almost 200 kilometers, a tough day awaited the riders on the third stage of the Tour of Slovakia. Multiple attacks in the beginning made for a fast start, and on the first uphill section after 30 kilometers, Thomas Gloag made his way into the breakaway of the day.

The British climber was joined by three other riders, but the quartet never gained more than three minutes on the peloton, which kept the strong group within reach all day. During his time at the front, Gloag managed to pick up five bonus seconds and moved into third overall. With 45 kilometers to go, the break was caught, but the aggressive racing didn’t stop there. Further attacks followed until everything was brought back together for the final kilometers.

A bunch sprint was then unavoidable as the peloton charged towards the finish line with Team Visma | Lease a Bike always close to the front. Inside the final kilometer, Niklas Behrens tried to shake things up with a powerful attack, but the German never managed to open a big gap. Instead, Paul Magnier claimed his third consecutive stage win in yet another sprint.

After the stage, sports director Sierk Jan de Haan reflected on the importance of learning to take the initiative in a race, even on a day when you are not the favorite.

“We did some good teamwork today and stuck to our plan. We wanted to take the initiative and get Gloag into the breakaway, which we managed to do, and we had also planned the attack from Niklas. It’s part of the learning process to race aggressively, and today was some good experience for the younger guys we have here.”

“At the same time, Gloag rode conservatively in the break but still made sure to take the bonus seconds, so it was a good day for him. In the final, the team set up Niklas perfectly, and we thought he could get a gap through the corners in the last kilometer. Unfortunately, Soudal–Quick-Step were on his wheel right away, but we had to try,” concluded Sierk Jan de Haan.