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Eneco Tour: Theo is the Bos on Stage 3

Rabobank’s sprinter and former track rider Theo Bos rewarded the work of his teammates in the final of the third stage of the Eneco Tour by winning the bunch sprint, his fourth victory of this season.

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The Bos! Far from the Olympic Velodrome, Theo Bos wins his first World Tour stage. Photo: Thomas van Bracht

The stage saw a breakaway of four riders lead the race for a long time including Britain’s Alex Dowsett but they were caught and the Rabobank riders came to the front of the peloton ten kilometres from the finish line before Bos, a former multi sprint champion on the track, started the sprint and found no-one was able to come past.

The course had quite a few climbs, but thanks to the control of Orica-GreenEDGE, the four leaders never managed to get too far ahead. Argos came to the front to assist their sprint ace Marcel Kittel, but he was taken out of the equation due to a puncture five kilometres before the finish line.

There was a close call for Bos as it seemed like he’d started to celebrate a bit too early just before the finish line, but he still had enough speed to stay ahead of John Degenkolb and his win was a nice boost for the team after having performed very well during the team time trial.

Orica-GreenEdge control the stage. Photo: Thomas van Bracht

“The stage went as expected,” concluded sports director Nico Verhoeven. “The breakaway never got too far ahead and it ended up in a sprint. We only got involved with the stage in the last ten kilometers. The final was nervous, with some false flat parts and twisting and turning. That’s why we had to make sure to be in front. You can never take the lead for ten kilometres, but I think we were the most dominating team. Everybody did their job well and Theo was kept well in front. He then finished it off beautifully.”

Theo Bos was very happy about his victory, even though he had suffered on the way. “It was a tough race. Even during the last kilometres I was wondering where I would find the strength. Yesterday we could already see that the whole team was strong and one rides such a final in a group, like a kind of team time trial. It’s nice that I am able to finish it off.”

For Bos it was his first World-Tour-victory and moreover in a ‘home race’. “Of course the finish was in Belgium, but still it’s nice. It happens to be the first time I win here, so actually we have a double first here today.”

Meanwhile, Brit Alex Dowsett had a productive day for Team Sky in the breakaway on stage three at the Eneco Tour. The Brit made his way into a four-man move which went away in the early going and was the main man to profit from the break, taking the maximum points and bonus seconds on offer to reduce his overall deficit to 27 seconds on the race leader.

Theo Bos all smiles. Photo: Thomas van Bracht

1 Theo Bos Rabobank Cycling Team 04:14:49
2 John Degenkolb Argos-Shimano @ same time
3 Heinrich Haussler Garmin – Sharp @ same time
4 Michal Kwiatkowski Omega Pharma – Quickstep @ same time
5 Manuel Belletti Ag2R – La Mondiale @ same time
6 Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi Movistar Team @ same time
7 Alessandro Petacchi Lampre – ISD @ same time
8 Michael Van Staeyen Topsport Vlaanderen – Mercator @ same time
9 Alexander Kristoff Katusha Team @ same time
10 Jacopo Guarnieri Astana Pro Team @ same time

25 Lars Boom Rabobank Cycling Team @ same time
40 Adam Blythe BMC Racing Team @ same time
73 Alex Dowsett Sky Procycling @ same time
74 Tom Boonen Omega Pharma – Quickstep @ same time
81 Jack Bauer Garmin – Sharp @ same time
112 David Millar Garmin – Sharp @ same time
126 Jeremy Hunt Sky Procycling @ same time
127 Luke Rowe Sky Procycling @ same time

 

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