Meeus already won on the wrong side of the road, but now also on 'the good' side in Portugal; Van Aert eighth

Jordi Meeus won the third stage of the Tour of the Algarve. The Belgian from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe was simply the fastest in Portugal in a sprint against Alberto Dainese (Tudor), Biniam Girmay (Intermarché), Arnaud De Lie (Lotto) and Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike). For Meeus, it was a nice revenge after he won a sprint on the first day in the Algarve, which went wrong because he found himself on the wrong side of the road.

Thursday was a day for the real climbers, so all eyes were on Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard. However, it was not the two former teammates who dominated the Alto da Foia, but UAE Team Emirates - XRG. Jan Christen managed to stay ahead of the favorites, with João Almeida finishing second. Friday was an actual day for the sprinters, who were eager for their first chance after the fiasco of the first stage.

In the opening phase, a large group of riders broke away from the peloton, including ten Portuguese and one British rider. They did not get much space; their maximum lead was four minutes. With about sixty kilometers to go, the gap was so small that the strongest riders of the breakaway attacked. César Fonte (Rádio Popular) was joined by Joaquim Silva (Efapel) and the always-active Carlos Miguel Salgueiro (APHotels & Resorts). But even they were caught with more than 50 kilometers to go. The sprinters' teams had no desire to play games.

Read more below the photo!

Bardet crashes hard: end of race

Just before the race entered its final stages, Romain Bardet suddenly hit the ground. It looked horrible for a moment, but the French rider from Picnic PostNL luckily managed to get back on his feet surprisingly quickly. However, it was the end of the race for the climber, who had started so well. Unfortunately, the race waited for no one, so the peloton rushed toward the finish. Meeus was the fastest because Bardet's teammate Casper van Uden was a bit early, and the fast Dainese was too late...  

Results stage 3 Volta ao Algarve 2025

Read also

Visma | Lease a Bike faces a serious setback heading into the Classics, but new names are already emerging

On the steep and narrow final climb, Scaroni is the strongest but also the smartest: Victory in Classic Var

Favorites stage 6 UAE Tour | Milan and Merlier stand out, but outsiders can seize opportunity in ultra-flat stage

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Get every week the latest news about CYCLING in your inbox!

Subscribe