Third time’s a charm for Team Visma | Lease a Bike in the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali. Koen Bouwman took the stage win. He beat his breakaway companion Louka Matthys with a strong sprint. Bouwman is now leader in the general classification as well.
The stage with start and finish in Riccione was one of the toughest of this Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali. Team Visma | Lease a Bike came out of the two earlier stages full of confidence. Early in the stage Milan Vader went on the attack. He was joined by seven riders.
Their lead would never be more than a minute and a half and eventually the attack stranded on the final categorized climb of the day. Among the many attack attempts that followed, Bouwman took his chance just under 20 kilometers from the finish. Together with his companion Matthys, he immediately created a nice gap. Despite the pressure from the peloton, the two managed to stay in front and in the sprint Bouwman proved himself the strongest.
“I am very happy that I was able to put my hands in the air again,” says a smiling Bouwman. “It was about two years ago and then of course it’s enormously satisfying to win again.”
Sports director Robert Wagner is incredibly proud. “It wasn’t agreed that Koen would attack, but he is such an experienced rider who knows when the right moment has arrived,” he said. “The whole team performed excellently today and made the race extremely tough. For example Milan Vader with his attack and Johannes Staune-Mittet by great stopping,” Wagner continued. Staune-Mittet came in on 12th place.
The goal for the final two days is clear: “To try to defend the jersey and hopefully take it home,” Bouwman said.
