Vlad Van Mechelen sprints to 4th after committed Development Team DSM performance

Photo Credit: Direct Velo / Michaël Gilson

The punchy action continued at Le Tour de Bretagne Cycliste this afternoon for stage three of the race, as the peloton took on a constantly up and down route that included the Mur de Bretagne before a challenging finish circuit around Le Quillio. It was an attacking start to the day with plenty of moves before eventually a group of three went clear and built up a large advantage, with all Development Team DSM riders in the bunch.

Heading onto the Mur de Bretagne there was a large crash in the peloton which saw a splinter group of 28 that included Enzo Leijnse and Vlad Van Mechelen forge on, before they were caught by a group of around 40 which saw Axel Källberg return. However, the breakaway trio still held onto an advantage that was north of three minutes and 30 seconds as they headed into the last 25 kilometres of the day. Leijnse and Källberg took up the chasing responsibility in the peloton, receiving some assistance from other teams, but the whole bunch never fully committed to the chase.

The Development program duo were undeterred and despite the break holding on to take the win, they did manage to reduce the gap to around 40 seconds come the finish. On the punchy drag to the line, Van Mechelen was able to show what misfortune took away in previous days and produced a great turn of speed to take second in the group, for what was a fine fourth place on the stage. Tomorrow sees a similarly challenging course and a hill-top finish.

Van Mechelen expressed: “It was a hard day today with tough conditions and the first real hills of the race. We were sharp and were at the right place on the key moments. There was a huge split on the Mur de Bretagne where me and Enzo were in the first part of the split. Eventually the thinned out bunch came back together and the goal was then to hunt down the early break which had a huge gap on our group. Enzo and Axel did an insane job to close a four minute gap down to 30 seconds over 30 kilometres. I was able to get then get second in the bunch sprint which meant fourth place on the stage. The team showed incredible teamwork and fighting spirit. It’s a shame because I think that if even one more team would have helped us then everyone in the peloton would be racing for the win.”

Team DSM coach Callum Ferguson added: “The plan for today was to stay in the front coming into the Mur de Bretagne, but there was a really big crash in the bunch and only 28 riders made it through in the first part, with Vlad and Enzo in there for us. A group of around 40 guys, including Axel, made it back. Coming onto the circuit the break had around three and a half minutes and we were one of the only teams really contributing to the chase. Axel and Enzo did a great job to then bring it down to 40 seconds come the finish, with Vlad sprinting to second best in the bunch and fourth on the stage. It was a really solid day, and especially the work of Axel and Enzo deserves a lot of plaudits.”