A sprinter’s stage like there are 13 in a dozen? Certainly not today, because the first part of the 3rd stage in the Saudi Tour resulted in a fan spectacle.
However, the accordion collapsed again when the wind was less favorable and then the peloton started a slow trek towards the finish.
After some fringe animation by Anthony Turgis, the red carpet was rolled out for the main act, but the Lotto-Soudal train turned in the soup in the final kilometer.
Dylan Groenewegen was able to hold onto the wheel of his new teammates and raced convincingly to the victory, although he started cheering fairly early on the ascending finish.
A hand-to-hand fight with Caleb Ewan was out of the question. The Australian still had a great comeback, but ended up in a place of honor and a sigh of the leader’s jersey. It remains from Santiago Buitrago.
