Tour of Britain (st. 3)

Sütterlin puts up strongly with final hills on Britain's stage three; sprints to fourth overall, 12" behind Bevin (BMC).

Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe (QST) was the fastest into a reduced group of 30 contenders at the end of a hilly stage three in the Tour of Britain, a short loop around Bristol (just 127km) yet as fast-paced as the entire race has been ridden since the start on Sunday.

Rubén Fernández (Movistar Team) was part of the early breaks into a race where the escapes didn’t get any significant room -never exceeding one minute-, the bunch focused on keeping things controlled before the ascents of Providence Lane and Burwalls Road. Jasha Sütterlin, already a protagonist on Monday, covered those climbs within the strongest and took a fine 8th place at the final sprint, inside a leading group which also featured José Joaquín Rojas, Eduardo Sepúlveda and Carlos Barbero.

As the race leader Alessandro Tonelli (BRD) was dropped from the front group and by virtue of the position countback, Sütterlin becomes 4th overall, 12″ behind Patrick Bevin (BMC). The GC shouldn’t change much on Wednesday, a finish more suited for the pure sprinters at the Royal Leamington Spa schedule on stage four, before it all shakes up into Thursday’s uphill TTT to Whinlatter.

Picture (c): SWPix