Kuss and Tulett can't hold their ground amid Basque violence, but Visma | Lease a Bike's Kelderman could: "An intense day"

The Dutch team had to start the day without Victor Campenaerts. The Belgian had hoped to use the Basque Country race as preparation for the Tour de France, but after a crash in the sprint buildup on stage two, he was forced to abandon due to his injuries.

Without Campenaerts, stage three turned into a hard day of racing. Sepp Kuss launched multiple attacks during the stage but ultimately finished more than ten minutes behind the winner. Ben Tulett, who had started the WorldTour race with high hopes, also saw his GC ambitions vanish, finishing nearly thirteen minutes down.

Axel Zingle, Attila Valter, and Wilco Kelderman were able to stay with the front group for longer. The Dutchman managed to follow the strongest riders on the climbs and ultimately finished seventh. “It was a very intense day, with hard racing from the start. I didn’t feel great in the beginning, but I got through it fairly well. As a team, we actually had control for most of the day and always had a few guys up front,” he said through Visma | Lease a Bike’s media team.

Kelderman also had to deal with some bad luck. “On the penultimate climb I had a puncture, which cost me quite a bit of energy to get back,” he explained. “At the end, I tried to sprint for the win, but this was the best I could do. Still, I’m left with a very good feeling from today,” concluded Kelderman, who now sits sixth overall. Three tough stages remain on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.