Baloise Belgium Tour 2022 – Stage 3 [FULL STAGE – Individual Time Trial]

June 17, 2022

Baloise Belgium Tour 2022 – Stage 3 ITT – Scherpenheuvel-Zichem – Scherpenheuvel-Zichem : 11,8 km

With its first edition dating back to 1908, the Baloise Belgium Tour is the second oldest, still-running stage-race in the world. Falling just a couple of weeks before the start of the Tour, the race is often targeted by sprinters and Classics specialists eager to hone their form ahead of the flatter stages in the first few days of the three-week race. The race typically follows a five-day format, with a short time-trial or prologue combined with a couple of rolling stages through the Flemish Ardennes to really decide the general classification. Some editions have been known to hold two stages on the same day, hosting a time-trial in the morning before a short, 100km-long road stage in the afternoon. Overall, the route is very Classics-esque, with several stages in the wind-battered north of the country and a couple in the hilly regions to the south. Despite the race being a firm favourite amongst fans and home riders, there have been several periods throughout its history where there has been no race, most recently between 1991 and 2001. Thankfully, since 2002, the race has become a permanent fixture on the calendar and in 2020 it became part of the new UCI ProSeries – the second-tier on the racing calendar, just below the coveted WorldTour.

Yves Lampaert (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) claimed the victory on stage 3 of the Baloise Belgium Tour, winning the 11.8-kilometre time trial from Scherpenheuvel to Zichem ahead of race leader Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo).

The Dane had a 17-second buffer on the Belgian time trial champion Lampaert at the start of the stage, and fought to a fine second place on the stage, giving up just seven seconds to hold onto the race lead.

Pedersen’s teammate Daan Hoole was third on the stage, having set the fastest early time and spent much of the afternoon in the hot seat.

Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) was a distant 10th on the stage and 19 seconds down on Lampaert but held onto third overall by one second over Oscar Riesebeek (Alpecin-Fenix). Wellens is 24 seconds behind in the GC.

The stage win is Lampaert’s first of the season.

“I didn’t have the best season so far and to win in my national jersey in Belgium in a time trial is not common. I’m very happy I could beat Mads Pedersen who is in really good shape. I’m really proud of my result today,” said Lampaert.

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