Tour of Slovakia 2021 – Stage 3 [FULL STAGE]

September 18, 2021

Tour of Slovakia 2021 – Stage 3 – Dolný Kubín – Považská Bystrica : 193,2 km

The Tour of Slovakia is a stage race that takes place before the World Championships each year, featuring a plethora of cycling stars both domestic and international. This year will be the 65th edition of the race that usually features five stages and has been a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour since 2017. Beginning in Košice, the race will track from the east to west of Slovakia, along a route that will prepare the riders for the upcoming World Championships. Starting off with a picturesque prologue around Košice, the race will gradually travel from east to west, taking in Spiš Castle (one of the largest ruins in Central Europe), the High Tatras and the spa town of Trenčianske Teplice. Whilst a couple of the stages will suit the sprinters, a hilly stage across the High Tatras looks set to define the general classification and its short, but steep climbs will be the ideal preparation looking ahead to Flanders 2021.

Kristoffer Halvorsen (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team) won Stage 3 of the Tour of Slovakia, squeezing past the left hand shoulder of Alvaro Hodeg (Deceuninck-Quickstep) to take victory.

Challenged all the way to the line by a late acceleration from Kaden Groves (Team BikeExchange), Halvorsen faced an anxious wait after the finish as the commissaires consulted the photo finish extensively before declaring the winner.

A third-place finish for Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohë), and the accompanying four bonus seconds this yielded, was enough for him to move into the overall race lead of his home tour. He now has a two-second lead over Hodeg.

How it unfolded

In the gloom of an early autumn afternoon, the peloton raced the 193.2km from Dolný Kubín to Považská Bystrica. Though the route was punctuated by five category 2 climbs, a bunch sprint was expected for the third consecutive day.

Despite repeated attacks, including from those who had already animated the previous stages of the race such as Dylan Sunderland (Qhubeka NextHash) and Idar Andersen (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team), no breakaway was able to form before the first categorized climb and so the peloton mopped up the points available.

After 30 kilometres of racing, it seemed that the day’s break had finally assembled as a group containing Andrea Garosio (Bardiani-CSF-Faizané) defending his polka-dot jersey for the third consecutive day, Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team), Helmut Trettwer (Maloja Pushbikers), and Marcin Budzinski (Mazowsze Serci Poland) built up an advantage of 30 seconds. This quartet later became a quintet with the addition of Ján Bárta (Elkov – Kasper) who bridged up from the peloton. Their efforts were short-lived, however, and the race regrouped again on the second categorised climb.

Finally, the third breakaway attempt succeeded; once more it contained Garosio, his teammate Alessandro Tonelli (Bardiani – CSF – Faizané), as well as Roger Adriá (Equipo Kern Pharma), Matěj Zahálka (Elkov – Kasper) and Tomasz Budzinski (Mazowsze Serci Poland).

Garosio took maximum mountain points on the day’s third categorised climb, and though he was beaten by Adriá at the next two opportunities, his lead over second-placed Adriá in the mountains competition reached a healthy 18 points.

The breakaway’s lead was less robust and never exceeded three minutes. Indeed, by the time the escapees had passed through the second of the day’s three intermediate sprints, their advantage had dropped to well under two minutes.

Following this intermediate sprint, Adriá and Zahálka attacked and dropped their breakaway companions. Zahálka then dropped Adriá and continued solo 35 kilometres from the finish. Deceuninck-Quickstep, in accordance with their position as the strongest team in the race, led the chase behind and swept up the breakaway riders who had been left behind by Zahálka.

With only one rider remaining out front, bonus seconds were available for those in the peloton at the last intermediate sprint of the day. Foreshadowing his later collection of bonus seconds at the finish line, Sagan won this sprint, amassing two bonus seconds while Hodeg scooped up the remaining one second.

The resulting acceleration hastened Zahálka’s demise and he was caught 20 kilometres from the finish as the peloton prepared for another bunch sprint. Though the pace remained high enough to deter attacks, team after team fought Deceuninck-Quickstep for control of the race and, like an amoeba, the peloton spread across the road, occupying its full width as a drag race ensued on the approach to the finishing town.

After the final hairpin was negotiated cautiously due to the wet roads, Jannik Steimle (Deceuninck-Quickstep) opened up the sprint 300m from the line. Hodeg, however, had become detached from Deceuninck’s lead-out and sprinted up the left hand side of the road, close to the barriers. Halvorsen squeezed through this gap left by Hodeg next to the barriers, while in the middle of the road Sagan and Groves launched their own sprints, but Halvorsen proved too strong and was victorious in a photo finish.

Results :
1 Kristoffer Halvorsen (Nor) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team 4:28:47
2 Kaden Groves (Aus) Team BikeExchange
3 Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
4 Alvaro Hodeg Chagui (Col) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5 Antonio Puppio (Ita) Qhubeka NextHash
6 Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
7 Itamar Einhorn (Isr) Israel Start-up Nation
8 Michael Mørkøv (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep
9 Adam Toupalík (Cze) Elkov-Kasper
10 Dominik Neuman (Cze) Elkov-Kasper
11 Enrico Zanoncello (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
12 Jannik Steimle (Ger) Deceuninck-QuickStep
13 Nicolas Dalla Valle (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
14 Tomás Bárta (Cze) Topforex ATT Investments Pro Cycling Team
15 Davide Martinelli (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech
16 Francisco Galvan Fernandez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
17 Andrea Peron (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk
18 Norman Vahtra (Est) Israel Start-up Nation
19 Riccardo Carretta (Ita) Cycling Team Friuli Asd
20 Cees Bol (Ned) Team DSM
21 Lukás Kubis (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica
22 Luca Coati (Ita) Qhubeka NextHash
23 Matús Stocek (Svk) Topforex ATT Investments Pro Cycling Team
24 Tobias Vanco (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica
25 David Per (Slo) Adria Mobil
26 Gleb Brussenskiy (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
27 Erik Baska (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
28 Andreas Stokbro (Den) Qhubeka NextHash
29 Eirik Lunder (Nor) Gazprom-RusVelo
30 Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
31 Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Qhubeka NextHash
32 Adrian Banaszek (Pol) Mazowsze Serce Polski
33 Julius Johansen (Den) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
34 Fabio Felline (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech
35 Mirco Maestri (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
36 Daniel Hoelgaard (Nor) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
37 Niklas Märkl (Ger) Team DSM
38 Juraj Karas (Svk) Slovakia
39 Helmut Trettwer (Ger) Maloja Pushbikers
40 Krists Neilands (Lat) Israel Start-up Nation
41 Jiri Petrus (Cze) Topforex ATT Investments Pro Cycling Team
42 Aljaz Jarc (Slo) Adria Mobil
43 Bostjan Murn (Slo) Adria Mobil
44 Savva Novikov (Rus) Equipo Kern Pharma
45 Jan Stöhr (Cze) Cycling Academy Tren?ín
46 Idar Andersen (Nor) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
47 Jakub Otruba (Cze) Elkov-Kasper
48 Marceli Boguslawski (Pol) Mazowsze Serce Polski
49 Roger Adria Oliveras (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
50 Matej Zahálka (Cze) Elkov-Kasper
51 Jakub Kaczmarek (Pol) Mazowsze Serce Polski
52 Denis Nekrasov (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo
53 Alexander Konychev (Ita) Team BikeExchange
54 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe
55 Corey Davis (USA) Maloja Pushbikers
56 Karel Tyrpekl (Cze) Topforex ATT Investments Pro Cycling Team
57 Karel Camrda (Cze) Topforex ATT Investments Pro Cycling Team
58 Marcin Budzinski (Pol) Mazowsze Serce Polski
59 Casper Pedersen (Den) Team DSM
60 Mattia Garzara (Ita) Cycling Team Friuli Asd
61 David Lozano Riba (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk
62 Piotr Brozyna (Pol) Mazowsze Serce Polski
63 Chris Froome (GBr) Israel Start-up Nation
64 Petr Klabouch (Cze) Topforex ATT Investments Pro Cycling Team
65 Michael Kukrle (Cze) Elkov-Kasper
66 Jan Bárta (Cze) Elkov-Kasper
67 Leon Heinschke (Ger) Team DSM
68 Adrian Kurek (Pol) Mazowsze Serce Polski
69 Tomasz Budzinski (Pol) Mazowsze Serce Polski
70 Patrick Gamper (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
71 Aljaz Colnar (Slo) Adria Mobil
72 Jonas Gregaard (Den) Astana-Premier Tech
73 Jonas Abrahamsen (Nor) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
74 Ziga Horvat (Slo) Adria Mobil
75 Dylan Sunderland (Aus) Qhubeka NextHash
76 Martin Haring (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica
77 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Qhubeka NextHash
78 Daniel Bichlmann (Ger) Maloja Pushbikers
79 Simon Nagy (Svk) Cycling Academy Tren?ín
80 Dmitrii Strakhov (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo
81 Marek Canecky (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica
82 Benjamin Perry (Can) Astana-Premier Tech
83 Michal Schlegel (Cze) Elkov-Kasper
84 Patrik Tybor (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica
85 Tomás Kalojíros (Cze) Cycling Academy Tren?ín
86 Christopher Juul-Jensen (Den) Team BikeExchange
87 Kristian Kulset (Nor) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
88 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Gazprom-RusVelo
89 Stefan Nôta (Svk) Slovakia
90 Damiano Cima (Ita) Gazprom-RusVelo
91 Igor Boev (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo
92 Filip Lohinsky (Svk) Slovakia
93 Stanislav Beres (Svk) Slovakia
94 Danny van der Tuuk (Ned) Equipo Kern Pharma
95 Ivan Moreno Sanchez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
96 Umberto Marengo (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
97 Yuval Ben Moshe (Isr) Israel Start-up Nation
98 David Kasko (Svk) Slovakia
99 Fredrik Dversnes (Nor) Gazprom-RusVelo
100 Michael Hepburn (Aus) Team BikeExchange
101 Juraj Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
102 Carl Fredrik Hagen (Nor) Israel Start-up Nation
103 Yevgeniy Gidich (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
104 Gabriele Petrelli (Ita) Cycling Team Friuli Asd
105 Shane Archbold (NZl) Deceuninck-QuickStep
106 Sam Brand (GBr) Team Novo Nordisk
107 Joonas Henttala (Fin) Team Novo Nordisk
108 Juraj Lajcha (Svk) Slovakia
109 Adam Foltán (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica
110 Umberto Poli (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk
111 Daniel Oss (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
112 Samuel Oros (Svk) Cycling Academy Tren?ín 0:00:30
113 Frederik Wandahl (Den) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:40
114 Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’ 0:00:44
115 Ladislav Frolek (Svk) Cycling Academy Tren?ín
116 Martin Gavenda (Svk) Slovakia
117 Andrea Debiasi (Ita) Cycling Team Friuli Asd
118 Edoardo Sandri (Ita) Cycling Team Friuli Asd
119 Pavel Stöhr (Cze) Cycling Academy Tren?ín
120 Sam Bewley (NZl) Team BikeExchange 0:00:57
121 Andrea Garosio (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
122 Martin Chren (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica
123 Choon Huat Goh (Sin) Team BikeExchange
124 Sergio Araiz Michel (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
125 Jaime Castrillo Zapater (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
126 Iljo Keisse (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
127 Stijn Steels (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
128 Taj Jones (Aus) Israel Start-up Nation 0:01:17
129 Paul Taebling (Ger) Maloja Pushbikers 0:01:41
130 Karel Vacek (Cze) Qhubeka NextHash 0:01:47
131 Petr Fiala (Cze) Topforex ATT Investments Pro Cycling Team
132 Hannes Wilksch (Ger) Team DSM
133 Jason Osborne (Ger) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:09:10

General Classification after Stage 3 :
1 Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe 12:23:30
2 Alvaro Hodeg Chagui (Col) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:02
3 Jannik Steimle (Ger) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:05
4 Roger Adria Oliveras (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 0:00:12
5 Eirik Lunder (Nor) Gazprom-RusVelo 0:00:14
6 Jakub Otruba (Cze) Elkov-Kasper 0:00:15
7 Matej Zahálka (Cze) Elkov-Kasper 0:00:16
8 Cees Bol (Ned) Team DSM
9 Casper Pedersen (Den) Team DSM
10 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:17
11 Idar Andersen (Nor) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
12 Leon Heinschke (Ger) Team DSM 0:00:18
13 Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech 0:00:19
14 Fabio Felline (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech 0:00:20
15 Lukás Kubis (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica
16 Jan Bárta (Cze) Elkov-Kasper
17 Niklas Märkl (Ger) Team DSM
18 Andreas Stokbro (Den) Qhubeka NextHash 0:00:21
19 Tomasz Budzinski (Pol) Mazowsze Serce Polski
20 Matús Stocek (Svk) Topforex ATT Investments Pro Cycling Team
21 Krists Neilands (Lat) Israel Start-up Nation
22 Gleb Brussenskiy (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
23 Francisco Galvan Fernandez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 0:00:22
24 Patrick Gamper (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
25 Jonas Abrahamsen (Nor) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
26 Davide Martinelli (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech
27 Michael Kukrle (Cze) Elkov-Kasper
28 Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
29 Adam Toupalík (Cze) Elkov-Kasper
30 Antonio Puppio (Ita) Qhubeka NextHash
31 Dmitrii Strakhov (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo 0:00:23
32 Aljaz Jarc (Slo) Adria Mobil
33 David Per (Slo) Adria Mobil 0:00:24
34 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Gazprom-RusVelo
35 Dominik Neuman (Cze) Elkov-Kasper
36 Benjamin Perry (Can) Astana-Premier Tech
37 Mirco Maestri (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’ 0:00:25
38 Christopher Juul-Jensen (Den) Team BikeExchange
39 Marek Canecky (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica
40 Jonas Gregaard (Den) Astana-Premier Tech
41 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Qhubeka NextHash
42 Dylan Sunderland (Aus) Qhubeka NextHash
43 Jakub Kaczmarek (Pol) Mazowsze Serce Polski 0:00:26
44 Karel Tyrpekl (Cze) Topforex ATT Investments Pro Cycling Team
45 Piotr Brozyna (Pol) Mazowsze Serce Polski
46 Marcin Budzinski (Pol) Mazowsze Serce Polski
47 Denis Nekrasov (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo 0:00:27
48 Jan Stöhr (Cze) Cycling Academy Tren?ín
49 Corey Davis (USA) Maloja Pushbikers 0:00:28
50 Michal Schlegel (Cze) Elkov-Kasper
51 Umberto Marengo (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
52 Karel Camrda (Cze) Topforex ATT Investments Pro Cycling Team 0:00:29
53 Fredrik Dversnes (Nor) Gazprom-RusVelo 0:01:09
54 Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’ 0:01:11
55 Riccardo Carretta (Ita) Cycling Team Friuli Asd 0:01:17
56 Luca Coati (Ita) Qhubeka NextHash 0:01:19
57 Savva Novikov (Rus) Equipo Kern Pharma 0:01:20
58 Gabriele Petrelli (Ita) Cycling Team Friuli Asd 0:01:23
59 David Lozano Riba (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk 0:01:26
60 Itamar Einhorn (Isr) Israel Start-up Nation 0:01:41
61 Martin Haring (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica 0:01:53
62 Kaden Groves (Aus) Team BikeExchange 0:01:58
63 Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Qhubeka NextHash 0:02:05
64 Norman Vahtra (Est) Israel Start-up Nation 0:02:09
65 Chris Froome (GBr) Israel Start-up Nation 0:02:16
66 Daniel Oss (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:02:36
67 Carl Fredrik Hagen (Nor) Israel Start-up Nation 0:02:39
68 Shane Archbold (NZl) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:02:41
69 Michael Mørkøv (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:02:43
70 Stijn Steels (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:03:05
71 Edoardo Sandri (Ita) Cycling Team Friuli Asd 0:03:21
72 Nicolas Dalla Valle (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’ 0:04:02
73 Karel Vacek (Cze) Qhubeka NextHash 0:04:06
74 Andrea Debiasi (Ita) Cycling Team Friuli Asd 0:04:52
75 Kristoffer Halvorsen (Nor) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team 0:05:00
76 Alexander Konychev (Ita) Team BikeExchange 0:05:12
77 Juraj Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:05:13
78 Andrea Peron (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk 0:05:14
79 Jiri Petrus (Cze) Topforex ATT Investments Pro Cycling Team 0:05:20
80 Danny van der Tuuk (Ned) Equipo Kern Pharma 0:05:22
81 Damiano Cima (Ita) Gazprom-RusVelo 0:06:14
82 Ivan Moreno Sanchez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 0:06:31
83 Igor Boev (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo 0:07:01
84 Enrico Zanoncello (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’ 0:07:05
85 Petr Fiala (Cze) Topforex ATT Investments Pro Cycling Team 0:07:48
86 Kristian Kulset (Nor) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team 0:08:37
87 Michael Hepburn (Aus) Team BikeExchange 0:08:39
88 Daniel Hoelgaard (Nor) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team 0:08:42
89 Helmut Trettwer (Ger) Maloja Pushbikers 0:08:45
90 Petr Klabouch (Cze) Topforex ATT Investments Pro Cycling Team
91 Marceli Boguslawski (Pol) Mazowsze Serce Polski 0:08:46
92 Ziga Horvat (Slo) Adria Mobil 0:08:54
93 Juraj Lajcha (Svk) Slovakia 0:08:58
94 Jaime Castrillo Zapater (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 0:09:20
95 Sergio Araiz Michel (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 0:09:22
96 Andrea Garosio (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’ 0:09:23
97 Erik Baska (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:10:09
98 Tomás Kalojíros (Cze) Cycling Academy Tren?ín 0:10:13
99 Filip Lohinsky (Svk) Slovakia 0:10:16
100 Yevgeniy Gidich (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
101 Sam Brand (GBr) Team Novo Nordisk 0:10:19
102 Jason Osborne (Ger) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:10:25
103 Samuel Oros (Svk) Cycling Academy Tren?ín 0:10:44
104 Tomás Bárta (Cze) Topforex ATT Investments Pro Cycling Team 0:10:48
105 Patrik Tybor (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica 0:10:52
106 Simon Nagy (Svk) Cycling Academy Tren?ín 0:10:56
107 Bostjan Murn (Slo) Adria Mobil 0:11:13
108 Frederik Wandahl (Den) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:11:16
109 Julius Johansen (Den) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team 0:12:18
110 Hannes Wilksch (Ger) Team DSM 0:13:01
111 David Kasko (Svk) Slovakia 0:13:14
112 Adrian Banaszek (Pol) Mazowsze Serce Polski 0:13:41
113 Mattia Garzara (Ita) Cycling Team Friuli Asd 0:13:42
114 Joonas Henttala (Fin) Team Novo Nordisk 0:13:47
115 Daniel Bichlmann (Ger) Maloja Pushbikers 0:13:49
116 Paul Taebling (Ger) Maloja Pushbikers 0:14:06
117 Pavel Stöhr (Cze) Cycling Academy Tren?ín 0:14:35
118 Adrian Kurek (Pol) Mazowsze Serce Polski 0:14:39
119 Juraj Karas (Svk) Slovakia 0:14:41
120 Stanislav Beres (Svk) Slovakia 0:14:44
121 Choon Huat Goh (Sin) Team BikeExchange 0:14:46
122 Yuval Ben Moshe (Isr) Israel Start-up Nation 0:14:50
123 Umberto Poli (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk
124 Aljaz Colnar (Slo) Adria Mobil 0:14:52
125 Sam Bewley (NZl) Team BikeExchange 0:16:26
126 Tobias Vanco (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica 0:16:43
127 Stefan Nôta (Svk) Slovakia
128 Iljo Keisse (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:17:38
129 Martin Chren (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica 0:17:39
130 Adam Foltán (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica 0:17:45
131 Taj Jones (Aus) Israel Start-up Nation 0:20:11
132 Ladislav Frolek (Svk) Cycling Academy Tren?ín 0:20:34
133 Martin Gavenda (Svk) Slovakia 0:20:36