Cycling: Tim Wellens won the third section of the Etoile de Bessèges. The Belgian attacked from a strong breakaway group and, in addition to winning the day, also took the lead in the overall standings.
Breakaway vs. Peloton
The third stage of the Etoile de Bessèges, starting and finishing in Bessèges, covered 156,0 kilometers. With a slightly wavy profile, an extremely strong breakaway group formed. At the forefront were among others Nils Politt (Bora – hansgrohe), Michal Kwiatkowski (Ineos) Egan Bernal (Ineos) greg van avermaet (AG2R – Citroen), as well as Philip Gilbert (Lotto – Soudal), Stefano Oldani (Lotto – Soudal) and Tim Wellens (Lotto – Soudal). In the main field, especially Cofidis, EF Education - Nippo, Bingol - Wallonie Bruxelles and Alpecin - Fenix tried to follow up. But the fugitives harmonized splendidly and kept the sprinter teams at a distance.
Wellens wins and takes the overall lead
By doing Tim Wellens launched an attack, the Belgian team Lotto - Soudal played the numerical superiority in the breakaway perfectly. The Belgian opened up a lead that his former companions were unable to close. Partly responsible for this was the fact that the Ineos team was represented by two drivers and therefore had to carry the main task. This is how Tim Wellens won the third section of the Etoile de Bessèges. So tomorrow he will be in the overall leader's jersey and has the best chance of overall victory. However, he cannot be sure about this, because the pursuers remain within striking distance. Only the drivers from the main field dropped out of the fight for overall victory today.
.@Tim_Wellens venceu a terceiraetapa there #EDB2021 pic.twitter.com/hwO1dyCsoc
— País do Ciclismo (@DoCiclismo) February 5, 2021