The Italian Champion recorded in Murten his 11th podium of the season.
Deceuninck – Quick-Step rallied around overall leader Kasper Asgreen and Italian Champion Elia Viviani, and committed to the chase behind the breakaway as soon as a four-man group took off in the opening kilometers of stage 3, making sure the escapees’ advantage wouldn’t go north of four minutes as they took on the undulating course between Flamatt and Murten, where the race returned after 28 years.
Dries Devenyns and Belgian Champion Yves Lampaert exchanged turns at the front and drilled the pace, chewing into the leader’s advantage and gradually bringing it down to 1:30 inside the final 20 kilometers. The quartet disintegrated with around ten kilometers to go and the last survivor of the day-long break got easily reeled in by the charging pack before the uphill cobbled finish.
Going into the final corner, Elia Viviani was in fourth position and opened the sprint 150 meters from the line, but couldn’t close the gap to Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe), as he ran out of road despite an impressive acceleration, coming over the line in second place: “We were focused, because we knew it was an important opportunity. The boys worked hard and pulled back the break, but the uphill drag didn’t favour me and I also wasn’t in the best position before that corner, which made it difficult to win. On one hand, I’m disappointed, but on the other, I am confident because I can feel that the form is there after our altitude training camp in Livigno.”
Kasper Asgreen moved down one position on the Tour de Suisse general classification, but the young Dane still had plenty of reasons to smile, as he took to the podium after the stage to don the best young rider jersey, which he will sport during Tuesday’s hilly stage between Murten and Arlesheim.
Photo credit: Tim De Waele/ Getty Images
