Third stage, and third top-10 for Groupama-FDJ on the Vuelta! On the last day of racing in the Netherlands, before returning to Spanish territory, Fabian Lienhard even grabbed the best result of the weekend. In Breda, the Swiss lead-out man found himself in a good position in the final stretch and was able to fight his way to fifth place in the sprint. A great result for his first Grand Tour. His teammate Jake Stewart took twelfth as a long transfer to the Basque Country is next on the list.
On Sunday, the Grand Départ from the Netherlands was moved from Utrecht to Breda, where both the start and finish were located. In-between, there were about 193 kilometres and absolutely no obstacles, despite a categorized “climb”. The sprinters were therefore expected once again on this final day on Dutch soil, but a more substantial breakaway also established itself from the start. Jan Bakelants (Intermarché-Wanty Gobert), Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal), Jose Herrada (Cofidis), Mikel Iturria (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Pau Miquel (Kern-Pharma), Ander Okamika (Burgos-BH) and Julius van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost) took the front willing to upset the bunch, but the latter never gave them more than a three-minute lead. The gap even reduced to two minutes with a hundred kilometres to go, and to just one minute seventy kilometres from the finish, in order to not take any risks. After a long cat-and-mouse game, the breakaway was eventually reeled in shortly before entering the last ten kilometres. “We expected a sprint today,” said Philippe Mauduit. “However, the stage was much more nervous and tense than yesterday, because the roads were much more technical, we passed through many villages, and there were a lot of roundabouts as well. Nevertheless, we managed to get through it safely”.
“It’s nice for a guy like me”, Fabian Lienhard
The wind didn’t have any impact on the final either, where the expected sprint slowly set up. Like the day before, Miles Scotson, Fabian Lienhard and Jake Stewart appeared at the last moment. After moving back up, the trio was able to join in the fight, but the Swiss man and the Englishman lost each other in the last kilometre. “It was super chaotic before the last right turn, at 800 metres”, said Fabian Lienhard. “I tried to lead out Jake like yesterday, but I took the corner really fast on the outside and he lost my wheel. I looked behind, I didn’t see him, so I kept going. There was headwind in the final stretch, so I was free spinning for a moment in the wheels”. Taking advantage of the drafting and his positioning, the 28-year-old rider then gained some spots in the last hundreds of metres and eventually entered the stage’s top-5. “It’s a decent fifth place”, said Philippe. “It is good for the team, but also for him on his first Grand Tour”. “Finishing fifth is always nice for a guy like me, who usually helps others”, added Fabian. “I take it, and I think Jake won’t be angry, so that’s perfect. I know I can go well on long and fast sprints like this, but I’ll continue to lead out others in the future. That’s more my role”. With this placing, Groupama-FDJ concludes the Dutch part of the Vuelta before a transfer and a first rest day on Monday. “Making it through these three days safely is already a good thing”, concluded Philippe. “It’s also great to see that the guys are going well physically, and that they’re motivated!”
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