Devo Race Report – A Travers Les Hauts de France – Stage 3

Date: September 5, 2021

Race: A Travers Les Hauts de France – Stage 3

Start/Finish: Albert – Le Cateau-Cambresis

Distance: 175km

Weather: Warm with light winds

Course: Flat to rolling hills, with two sectors of cobbles. 1km climb on the finishing 3, 17km laps 

Riders: 107

Class: UCI 2.2

Daniel Holt (USA)

Given that Filippo and Doriand were only 3 seconds out of a podium position, and it was unlikely that they would podium in a field sprint, I encouraged them to try to get in the breakaway and pick up some time bonus sprints.

The race started very fast for the first hour before a 4 rider break got away. Our guys missed the move and the guy that made the break won the sprints and ended up 5th in the GC… The race ended in a field sprint again, with a crash in the last 3km. Our guys made it through safely.

One nice touch to the end of the race was the guys presenting the official time keeper of the race with a jersey. He and his wife live with type 2 diabetes while his daughter has type 1.