Late move decides stage three of Tour of Hellas

Knowing something may happen and being in a position to prevent it is often not as simple as it sounds. That much can be said for the third stage of the International Tour of Hellas as a group of 17 riders attacked on the final climb and held off the chasing pack to contest the result.

Team Novo Nordisk led the chase alongside Trek Segafredo and Bornholm, and despite their combined efforts the stage had gone with the world’s first all diabetes professional cycling team looking ahead to tomorrow’s stage four.

Peter Kusztor:

“We were straight onto a climb again today and the peloton split almost straight away, but it came back together again on the descent and from there it was calm until the final climb, and then it exploded.”

“There were two guys already out front when the attacks came, 15 guys went and formed the selection and that was it. We pulled and we weren’t the only ones, but they held onto around 50seconds all the way to the line. I don’t know what more we could have done today, we emptied the tank in the chase, but the group was strong and chapeau to them.”

Sports Director Gennady Mikhaylov:

“Well, as it so often happens you go from the highs to the lows in the blink of an eye. Especially in a cycling stage race because each day can be different to the next and you really need to be prepared for everything. Of course, that’s easier said than done and today ended up being a day where a few teams were caught out.”

“We had ridden solidly up until the last climb and even though Peter and David were close to the front, the attacks came sharp, and they came fast so we had no choice but to chase. It didn’t happen today and tomorrow looks all set for a sprint finale so we must be switched on and focused on working for Andrea.”