Ethan Hayter won the third stage of the Baloise Belgium Tour on Friday. In a 9.7-kilometre individual time trial in Tessenderlo-Ham, the 26-year-old Briton was four seconds faster than Italian specialist Filippo Ganna. Hayter is also the new leader in the general classification.
The riders of Soudal-Quick Step dominated the time trial in the Baloise Belgium Tour. Slovakian Josef Cerny set the first target time and took his place in the hot seat in Tessenderlo-Ham. Cerny would eventually finish 18th but was quickly replaced by Ethan Hayter. The Brit smashed his teammate’s time and set an average speed of over 55 km per hour.
No one came close to Hayter’s top time after that. Even top favourite Filippo Ganna could not beat the speedster’s time. However, the two-time World Time Trial Champion finished just a few seconds behind the winner.
It is Hayter’s twentieth professional victory, his first this season. He recorded his previous victory just under a year ago at the British Time Trial Championships. Hayter takes the lead in the general classification from Colombian Juan Sebastian Molano. Ganna is second, two seconds behind, and Vermeersch is third with fifteen seconds.
Saturday will see the queen stage of the 94th Baloise Belgium Tour. The fourth stage is 173 kilometres long and starts and finishes in Durbuy. The 44-kilometre local circuit gives the riders six Ardennes climbs to sink their teeth into. The finish is on the Mur de Durbuy (1.2 km, 6.2%).
