No changes in the overall standings at the Volta ao Algarve.
Tavira, the small town that situated in the east of Algarve, hosted a stage finish at the race for the tenth consecutive year, and the stage that concluded there had bunch sprint written all over it, despite the presence of some small climbs on the 183.5km course.
Just like on the previous day, a numerous breakaway animated the race, but once again the escapees didn’t have a chance against a peloton that had the clear goal of making sure everything would come down to a mass gallop Friday. The speed picked up gradually and the leaders got caught with more than 25 kilometers to go. In the final kilometers, it was Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) who turned out to be the fastest, taking the victory on this third stage.
The Soudal Quick-Step boys concluded safely in the peloton – including Dries Van Gestel, who was our top finisher – meaning that both Maximilian Schachmann and Ilan Van Wilder retained their places in the general classification top 15 ahead of Saturday’s complicated stage to Faro.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
