The third day of action at Itzulia Basque Country saw a hilly parcours throughout the day before a climb late on and the a kick up to the line. Team dsm-firmenich PostNL set out with a plan on keeping an eye on the break if it looked promising but if not, then they would aim to protect and set up Martijn Tusveld for the finale. It was a fast start with a lot of attacks but eventually the race settled and a small breakaway went up the road. Over the climbs a solid pace was set and the bunch thinned down but things came back somewhat back together ahead of the last main ascent of the day. There, a good tempo was made at the front by some teams to ensure there were no attacks but equally that those who were fully dropped couldn’t return. It was a nervous run-in and the team moved Tusveld forward well, but unfortunately a crash inside the final kilometres saw Tusveld held-up, and the chase to go for a result was gone.
Speaking after the stage Tusveld expressed: “Today there were a few scenarios possible. A breakaway was a good chance or it could come down to reduced bunch sprint. I felt really good today and hoped for a hard pace up the two final climbs but the pace wasn’t high enough to drop some sprinters. But still there was a nice opportunity to do a sprint for me. Thanks to the team I was in a really good position into the last two kilometres and was ready to make a move into the last corner but unfortunately there was a big crash right in front of me. Luckily I could just avoid the crash but on the other hand we were again really unlucky because I think this was a nice opportunity to get a result. The teamwork was good and the sensations were as well so let’s hope for some more luck the coming days!”