Another strong result for the 34-year-old, a podium finisher in the first part of the season at Paris-Roubaix.
It wasn’t the hardest stage of the week, but it ended up being the most spectacular one after the race exploded early, with more than 90 kilometers to go. It was a furious pace pushed on the penultimate climb, which left only a dozen or so riders in the main group, including some of the GC men.
Jasper Stuyven, Fix ALL Quick-Step’s top ranked rider in the standings, was part of a numerous and strong chasing group which tried their best to reduce the gap but despite their best efforts all they could do was erase 40 seconds by the time the stage finished in Earlston.
The Belgian - one of the most consistent riders of the race - came home with the chasing group and ended up moving onto the overall podium of the Tour of Britain at his first participation here. It was Stuyven’s first stage race top three in seven years and a result that rounded out the strong week Fix ALL Quick-Step had in the UK.
Quite a hectic stage today.
“The peloton split on the top of the climb due to the strong winds and it was almost impossible to make up ground on those narrow roads. We ended up chasing, and even though we didn’t bridge across, we managed to fix it all and I made my way into the top three. It was a good week for us, we had a great group of riders here, and we can be proud of winning a stage and finishing on the podium”, Jasper said after the race.
See how our Fix All jersey made it to the Tour of Britain.
Photo credit: ©George Wood / Getty Images
