Victor Campenaerts placed ninth in the third stage of the Volta ao Algarve. The Team LottoNL-Jumbo-rider lost 51 seconds to winner Fabian Cancellara (Trek-Segafredo) in the 18-kilometre time trial. Primoz Roglic finished as 24th and moved to sixth in the general classification.

The Volta ao Algarve’s time trial had it all. The 18 kilometres around Sagres were technical in the beginning with the roads twisting and turning. The riders faced strong winds, as well. “The first half went slightly uphill and the second half slightly downhill,” sports director Merijn Zeeman said after the race. “It was a tough time trial. I’m satisfied with Victor Campenaerts’ nine place. In this race, with a lot of great riders against the clock on the start, it’s a beautiful result and an improvement when you look at his rides last year.”

“I was aiming for a spot in the top-10 and I reached that,” Campenaerts added. “It was a good time trial, not superb, but you’re not able to perform exceptional every day. I may have lost some time in the beginning of the race. In that technical part of the time trial, I was only thinking about not crashing, probably because of my crash in Valencia’s time trial. I was too cautious. I have a good feeling about this result regardless. With all the wind from the side, it was something for riders who have experience in the spring classics. Cancellara has a stronger body than I have.”

There were many compliments for Roglic’s performance after the race. He placed 24th and held on his top 10 position in the general classification. “He delivered a very strong performance another time,” Zeeman said. “He barely has experience in riding time trials, but he prepared himself very well and had a lot of information from his teammates, as well. He is a lightweight so he wasn’t at an advantage in these circumstances. He is placed sixth now in the general classification. That’s great. Tomorrow, he has to make sure that he doesn’t lose any time, and on Sunday, he can go all in for another time. It’s going to be in interesting final." 

On Saturday, the attention will go back to sprinter Dylan Groenewegen. “It’s a day for the sprinters tomorrow and we’re going to work for Dylan again,” Zeeman confirmed. “This race is going quite well for our team with some beautiful results. We want to continue doing that tomorrow.”