Tour de Wallonie 2020 – Stage 3 [FULL STAGE]

August 18, 2020

Tour de Wallonie 2020 – Stage 3 – Montzen – Visé : 192 km

The 2020 VOO–Tour de Wallonie is a four-stage men’s professional road cycling race mainly held in the Belgian region of Wallonia. It is a 2.Pro race as part of the 2020 UCI Europe Tour and the inaugural 2020 UCI ProSeries. It is the forty-seventh edition of the Tour de Wallonie, starting on 16 August in Soignies and finishing on 19 August in Erezée. It was originally scheduled for 27 – 31 July, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was postponed to mid-August after the UCI’s May calendar update and was shortened from five stages like in years prior to four stages.

Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-QuickStep) claimed victory in a dramatic finale to stage 3 of the Tour de Wallonie, getting the better of Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ) and John Degenkolb (Lotto Soudal) in a sprint, seconds after a late escape group was caught.

Bennett’s teammate Zdenek Stybar was one of four riders who went clear on the steep Cote de Cheratte with 10km to go, along with Greg Van Avermaet (CCC Team) Jonathan Narvaez (Team Ineos), and Loic Vliegen (Circus Wanty).

They had a lead of 20 seconds on the flat run-in but the remnants of a fractured peloton reformed and Groupama-FDJ and Lotto Soudal combined to reel them in. The catch was made inside the final 500 metres and Florian Senechal led out the sprint with such force that he created a four-man split, leaving Bennett, Démare, and Degenkolb to contest it.

The Irishman, who was dropped on a late climb on Monday’s stage, came past convincingly to take his fourth win of the season.

While that trio managed to survive the late climb, Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) was dropped and lost the overall lead of the race, with the yellow jersey now passing to Démare.

“After yesterday I needed that. The springs came out yesterday and I just had nothing. Today was a big difference,” Bennett said.

“We just said we’d ride aggressively, and I’d just float around, because I knew my form must be there some place but I didn’t know if it’d come back today, so I just rode my own race until the last climb, and the boys did a great job in the finale today. With the positioning and the lead-out, the whole team rode a fantastic race and I’m really proud to finish off the job today.”

How it unfolded

After successive bunch sprints on the opening two days, the 192km stage Plombières to Visé was expected to be a more selective affair, with the undulating parcours and seven categorised climbs to start to shape the general classification. The Cote de Cheratte, 700 metres long at 12.5 per cent, featured twice in the final 40km, the second ascent topping out with 10km to go and offering a launchpad to the punchier Classics specialists.

The stage started with a five-rider breakaway going clear, featuring: Michael Golas (Ineos), Marcel Sieberg (Bahrain McLaren), Carlos Canal Blanco (Burgos-BH), Michael Van Staeyen (Tarteletto-Isorex), Andreas Goeman (Telenet Baloise Lions). They built a lead of five minutes as AG2R La Mondiale set tempo in the bunch.

Before any real action occurred, the race lost three riders in Ryan Gibbons (NTT) and the Ineos duo of Owain Doull and Chris Lawless, all of whom had crashed on Monday.

Golas claimed the mountains points on the three climbs in the first half of the stage, but the break split up on the Cote de Mont-Theux with 75km to go. At that point the break’s lead had been slashed, and while Sieberg, Goeman and Van Staeyen were dropped, Milan Menten (Sport Vlaanderen Baloise) and Toon Aerts (Telenet Baloise Lions) bridged across. 15Km later, they were joined by two more opportunists in Pim Ligthart (Total Direct Energie) and Gianni Marchand (Tarteletto-Isorex), but with 40km to go it was all over as the advancing peloton reeled them back.

Groupama-FDJ took control as they hit the finishing circuit and safely took Démare over the first ascent of the Cote de Cheratte. CCC then worked to make it hard for the sprinters but most were still there as a reduced bunch crossed the finish line for the first time with 28km to go. Marco Haller (Bahrain McLaren) and Alexis Renard (Israel Sstart-Up Nation) tried an attack on the approach to the final climb of the Cote de Cheratte but the pace in the bunch was too high.

Senechal launched the first softening attack on the double-digit gradients, before Narvaez took it up and drew out Van Avermaet and Stybar, who thought he’d gained bonus seconds at the intermediate sprint on Monday, only to be docked 20 seconds for riding on the pavement. Vliegen gave chase and linked up with them over the top to form a four-man group for the 10km run-in.

At first, there were only 10 riders in the second group, and with 20 seconds in hand, the quartet looked set to stay away, but there was a regrouping behind, with Groupama-FDJ and Lotto Soudal both possessing the numbers to chase it down. It was a nail-biter, as the gap dropped to 15 seconds with 2.5km to go and seven seconds with 1,000 metres to go. Vliegen then attacked before swinging over, and that allowed the peloton to come roaring up. By that point, Senechal, who had let FDJ and Lotto do all the chasing on the run-in, was pretty much in full flow, and split the bunch in the frantic lead-out, with Bennett duly mopping up to answer his own doubts.

Results :
1 Sam Bennett (Irl) Deceuninck-Quickstep 4:42:25
2 Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
3 John Degenkolb (Ger) Lotto Soudal
4 Matteo Trentin (Ita) CCC Team 0:00:01
5 Amaury Capiot (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
6 Andrea Vendrame (Ita) AG2R la Mondiale
7 Marco Haller (Aut) Bahrain McLaren
8 Alexander Krieger (Ger) Alpecin-Fenix
9 Baptiste Planckaert (Bel) Bingoal WB
10 Clement Venturini (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale
11 Nick Van der Lijke (Ned) Riwal Readynez
12 Franck Bonnamour (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
13 Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Israel Start-Up Nation
14 Romain Hardy (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
15 Bryan Coquard (Fra) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept
16 Andreas Lorentz Kron (Den) Riwal Readynez
17 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) CCC Team
18 James Fouche (NZl) Hagens Berman Axeon
19 Dries Van Gestel (Bel) Total Direct Energie
20 Jetse Bol (Ned) Burgos-BH
21 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale
22 Thomas Sprengers (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
23 Eliot Lietaer (Bel) Bingoal WB
24 Florian Senechal (Fra) Deceuninck-Quickstep
25 Otto Vergaerde (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
26 Loïc Vliegen (Bel) Circus-Wanty Gobert
27 Kévin Geniets (Lux) Groupama-FDJ
28 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Lotto Soudal
29 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Bingoal WB
30 Aaron Van Poucke (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
31 Aime De Gendt (Bel) Circus-Wanty Gobert
32 Lawrence Naesen (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale
33 Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal
34 Jhonatan Manuel Narvaez Prado (Ecu) Team Ineos
35 Kevin Inkelaar (Ned) Bahrain McLaren
36 Jonas Koch (Ger) CCC Team
37 Lucas Eriksson (Swe) Riwal Readynez
38 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Deceuninck-Quickstep
39 Kevin Vermaerke (USA) Hagens Berman Axeon
40 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:08
41 Lars Van den Berg (Ned) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:22
42 Andre Carvalho (Por) Hagens Berman Axeon 0:01:05
43 Alex Molenaar (Ned) Burgos-BH
44 Cyril Barthe (Fra) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept
45 Jarrad Drizners (Aus) Hagens Berman Axeon
46 Daniel McLay (GBr) Team Arkea-Samsic
47 Reinardt Janse van Rensburg (RSA) NTT Pro Cycling
48 Scott Thwaites (GBr) Alpecin-Fenix
49 Silvan Dillier (Swi) AG2R la Mondiale
50 Lionel Taminiaux (Bel) Bingoal WB
51 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Bahrain McLaren
52 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:02:07
53 Lennert Teugels (Bel) Tarteletto-Isorex
54 Alexis Renard (Fra) Israel Start-Up Nation
55 Michael Mørkøv (Den) Deceuninck-Quickstep
56 Milan Menten (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:02:37
57 Kevin Deltombe (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
58 Tom Wirtgen (Lux) Bingoal WB
59 August Jensen (Nor) Riwal Readynez 0:03:51
60 Eli Iserbyt (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal
61 Dries De Bondt (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
62 Toon Vandebosch (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal
63 Kevin Reza (Fra) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept
64 Lorrenzo Manzin (Fra) Total Direct Energie
65 Frederik Backaert (Bel) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept
66 Cameron Wurf (Aus) Team Ineos
67 Jannik Steimle (Ger) Deceuninck-Quickstep
68 Benoit Jarrier (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
69 Anthony Turgis (Fra) Total Direct Energie
70 Christophe Noppe (Bel) Team Arkea-Samsic
71 Stijn Steels (Bel) Deceuninck-Quickstep
72 Edward Planckaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
73 Luke Rowe (GBr) Team Ineos
74 Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Groupama-FDJ
75 Caleb Ewan (Aus) Lotto Soudal 0:03:58
76 Nathan Van Hooydonck (Bel) CCC Team 0:06:20
77 Frederik Frison (Bel) Lotto Soudal
78 Stan Dewulf (Bel) Lotto Soudal
79 Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) CCC Team 0:06:55
80 Kenneth Van Rooy (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
81 Nicolas Cleppe (Bel) Telenet Lions
82 Guy Sagiv (Isr) Israel Start-Up Nation
83 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Ineos
84 Jens Debusschere (Bel) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept
85 Timothy Dupont (Bel) Circus-Wanty Gobert 0:12:35
86 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) CCC Team
87 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Total Direct Energie
88 Donavan Vincent Grondin (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
89 Alexandar Richardson (GBr) Alpecin-Fenix
90 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) NTT Pro Cycling
91 Jens Reynders (Bel) Hagens Berman Axeon
92 Angel Fuentes Paniego (Spa) Burgos-BH
93 Manuel Peñalver Aniorte (Spa) Burgos-BH
94 Kevin Van Melsen (Bel) Circus-Wanty Gobert
95 Carlos Canal Blanco (Spa) Burgos-BH
96 Christoffer Lisson (Den) Riwal Readynez
97 Thijs Aerts (Bel) Telenet Lions
98 Toon Aerts (Bel) Telenet Lions
99 Yentl Bekaert (Bel) Telenet Lions
100 Maximilian Walscheid (Ger) NTT Pro Cycling
101 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Bahrain McLaren
102 Jacob Relaes (Bel) Tarteletto-Isorex
103 Gianni Marchand (Bel) Tarteletto-Isorex
104 Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal
105 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale
106 Itamar Einhorn (Isr) Israel Start-Up Nation
107 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Total Direct Energie
108 Roy Jans (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
109 Cole Davis (USA) Hagens Berman Axeon
110 Tim Merlier (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
111 Josef Cerny (Cze) CCC Team
112 Arvid De Kleijn (Ned) Riwal Readynez
113 Dylan Sunderland (Aus) NTT Pro Cycling
114 Iljo Keisse (Bel) Deceuninck-Quickstep
115 Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain McLaren
116 Corne Van Kessel (Ned) Circus-Wanty Gobert
117 Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Circus-Wanty Gobert
118 Andreas Goeman (Bel) Telenet Lions
119 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
120 Adrien Petit (Fra) Total Direct Energie
121 Bert De Backer (Bel) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept
122 Lars Van der Haar (Ned) Telenet Lions
123 Ludovic Robeet (Bel) Bingoal WB
124 Rory Sutherland (Aus) Israel Start-Up Nation
125 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Bahrain McLaren
126 Michal Golas (Pol) Team Ineos
127 Rasmus Tiller (Nor) NTT Pro Cycling
128 Julien Duval (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale
129 Jim Aernouts (Bel) Telenet Lions
130 Michael Vanthourenhout (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal
131 Ryan Kamp (Ned) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal
132 Laurens Sweeck (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal
133 Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Groupama-FDJ
134 Fabian Lienhard (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
135 Roger Kluge (Ger) Lotto Soudal
136 Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept
137 Michaël Van Staeyen (Bel) Tarteletto-Isorex 0:16:11
138 Michael Carbel Svendgaard (Den) NTT Pro Cycling
139 Tom Paquot (Bel) Bingoal WB
140 Damien Gaudin (Fra) Total Direct Energie
141 Ludwig De Winter (Bel) Circus-Wanty Gobert
142 Enzo Wouters (Bel) Tarteletto-Isorex 0:22:34

General Classification after Stage 3 :
1 Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 12:57:28
2 Amaury Capiot (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:00:16
3 James Fouche (NZl) Hagens Berman Axeon
4 Clement Venturini (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale 0:00:17
5 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale
6 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) CCC Team
7 Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Israel Start-Up Nation
8 Lawrence Naesen (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale
9 Loïc Vliegen (Bel) Circus-Wanty Gobert
10 Nick Van der Lijke (Ned) Riwal Readynez
11 Matteo Trentin (Ita) CCC Team
12 Andrea Vendrame (Ita) AG2R la Mondiale
13 Alexander Krieger (Ger) Alpecin-Fenix
14 Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal
15 Jhonatan Manuel Narvaez Prado (Ecu) Team Ineos
16 Romain Hardy (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
17 Kevin Vermaerke (USA) Hagens Berman Axeon
18 Eliot Lietaer (Bel) Bingoal WB
19 Jonas Koch (Ger) CCC Team
20 Florian Senechal (Fra) Deceuninck-Quickstep
21 Franck Bonnamour (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
22 Andreas Lorentz Kron (Den) Riwal Readynez
23 Marco Haller (Aut) Bahrain McLaren
24 Aaron Van Poucke (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
25 Thomas Sprengers (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
26 Dries Van Gestel (Bel) Total Direct Energie
27 Otto Vergaerde (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
28 Kévin Geniets (Lux) Groupama-FDJ
29 Jetse Bol (Ned) Burgos-BH
30 Lucas Eriksson (Swe) Riwal Readynez
31 Aime De Gendt (Bel) Circus-Wanty Gobert
32 Baptiste Planckaert (Bel) Bingoal WB
33 Kevin Inkelaar (Ned) Bahrain McLaren
34 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Bingoal WB
35 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:24
36 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Deceuninck-Quickstep 0:00:34
37 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:35
38 Daniel McLay (GBr) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:01:17
39 Lars Van den Berg (Ned) Groupama-FDJ
40 Lionel Taminiaux (Bel) Bingoal WB 0:01:21
41 Silvan Dillier (Swi) AG2R la Mondiale
42 Andre Carvalho (Por) Hagens Berman Axeon
43 Jarrad Drizners (Aus) Hagens Berman Axeon
44 Alex Molenaar (Ned) Burgos-BH
45 Scott Thwaites (GBr) Alpecin-Fenix
46 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Bahrain McLaren
47 John Degenkolb (Ger) Lotto Soudal 0:01:29
48 Cyril Barthe (Fra) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept 0:02:00
49 Alexis Renard (Fra) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:02:23
50 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Israel Start-Up Nation
51 Michael Mørkøv (Den) Deceuninck-Quickstep
52 Milan Menten (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:02:50
53 Tom Wirtgen (Lux) Bingoal WB 0:02:51
54 Lennert Teugels (Bel) Tarteletto-Isorex 0:02:54
55 Reinardt Janse van Rensburg (RSA) NTT Pro Cycling 0:02:58
56 Kevin Deltombe (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:03:13
57 Bryan Coquard (Fra) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept 0:03:16
58 Dries De Bondt (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 0:03:53
59 Caleb Ewan (Aus) Lotto Soudal 0:03:58
60 August Jensen (Nor) Riwal Readynez 0:04:07
61 Christophe Noppe (Bel) Team Arkea-Samsic
62 Edward Planckaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
63 Frederik Backaert (Bel) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept
64 Anthony Turgis (Fra) Total Direct Energie
65 Toon Vandebosch (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal
66 Cameron Wurf (Aus) Team Ineos
67 Luke Rowe (GBr) Team Ineos
68 Stijn Steels (Bel) Deceuninck-Quickstep
69 Eli Iserbyt (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal 0:04:30
70 Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Groupama-FDJ 0:05:00
71 Benoit Jarrier (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:05:02
72 Jannik Steimle (Ger) Deceuninck-Quickstep 0:05:10
73 Lorrenzo Manzin (Fra) Total Direct Energie 0:06:35
74 Nathan Van Hooydonck (Bel) CCC Team 0:06:36
75 Frederik Frison (Bel) Lotto Soudal
76 Kevin Reza (Fra) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept 0:06:55
77 Kenneth Van Rooy (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:07:11
78 Guy Sagiv (Isr) Israel Start-Up Nation
79 Jens Debusschere (Bel) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept
80 Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) CCC Team
81 Nicolas Cleppe (Bel) Telenet Lions
82 Sam Bennett (Irl) Deceuninck-Quickstep 0:08:12
83 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Ineos
84 Stan Dewulf (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:12:21
85 Jens Reynders (Bel) Hagens Berman Axeon 0:12:44
86 Andreas Goeman (Bel) Telenet Lions 0:12:45
87 Michal Golas (Pol) Team Ineos 0:12:47
88 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) NTT Pro Cycling 0:12:51
89 Timothy Dupont (Bel) Circus-Wanty Gobert
90 Arvid De Kleijn (Ned) Riwal Readynez
91 Manuel Peñalver Aniorte (Spa) Burgos-BH
92 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
93 Itamar Einhorn (Isr) Israel Start-Up Nation
94 Cole Davis (USA) Hagens Berman Axeon
95 Ryan Kamp (Ned) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal
96 Maximilian Walscheid (Ger) NTT Pro Cycling
97 Adrien Petit (Fra) Total Direct Energie
98 Donavan Vincent Grondin (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
99 Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Circus-Wanty Gobert
100 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale
101 Ludovic Robeet (Bel) Bingoal WB
102 Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept
103 Alexandar Richardson (GBr) Alpecin-Fenix
104 Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Groupama-FDJ
105 Lars Van der Haar (Ned) Telenet Lions
106 Tim Merlier (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 0:13:10
107 Roy Jans (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 0:13:14
108 Jacob Relaes (Bel) Tarteletto-Isorex
109 Gianni Marchand (Bel) Tarteletto-Isorex 0:13:20
110 Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain McLaren 0:13:23
111 Fabian Lienhard (Swi) Groupama-FDJ 0:13:30
112 Josef Cerny (Cze) CCC Team 0:13:52
113 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) CCC Team 0:14:12
114 Roger Kluge (Ger) Lotto Soudal 0:14:55
115 Yentl Bekaert (Bel) Telenet Lions 0:15:12
116 Michael Vanthourenhout (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal 0:15:15
117 Thijs Aerts (Bel) Telenet Lions 0:15:19
118 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Bahrain McLaren 0:15:50
119 Jim Aernouts (Bel) Telenet Lions
120 Bert De Backer (Bel) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept 0:15:58
121 Laurens Sweeck (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal 0:16:20
122 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Total Direct Energie 0:16:22
123 Angel Fuentes Paniego (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:18:09
124 Kevin Van Melsen (Bel) Circus-Wanty Gobert
125 Julien Duval (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale 0:18:16
126 Christoffer Lisson (Den) Riwal Readynez 0:18:18
127 Iljo Keisse (Bel) Deceuninck-Quickstep
128 Rory Sutherland (Aus) Israel Start-Up Nation
129 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Bahrain McLaren 0:19:19
130 Michaël Van Staeyen (Bel) Tarteletto-Isorex 0:19:26
131 Michael Carbel Svendgaard (Den) NTT Pro Cycling
132 Damien Gaudin (Fra) Total Direct Energie 0:20:03
133 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Total Direct Energie 0:20:37
134 Rasmus Tiller (Nor) NTT Pro Cycling 0:20:51
135 Toon Aerts (Bel) Telenet Lions 0:21:00
136 Carlos Canal Blanco (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:21:01
137 Corne Van Kessel (Ned) Circus-Wanty Gobert 0:22:18
138 Tom Paquot (Bel) Bingoal WB 0:24:12
139 Enzo Wouters (Bel) Tarteletto-Isorex 0:28:08
140 Dylan Sunderland (Aus) NTT Pro Cycling 0:28:47
141 Ludwig De Winter (Bel) Circus-Wanty Gobert 0:28:52
142 Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal 0:32:34