The yellow and black of Team LottoNL-Jumbo was seen at front of the race frequently during the third stage of the Vuelta a España. Maarten Tjallingii was the engine of an early flight and was the final rider to be caught with 15 kilometres to go.

Tom Van Asbroeck tried to mix in on the sprint, but the Belgian lost the wheel of his team-mates Mike Teunissen and Dennis van Winden. All three men finished in the top 20, enough to secure the win day’s team classification, but didn’t get close to the podium. Van Asbroeck finished 10th, Van Winden and Teunissen ended up 13th and 16th. Tomorrow they will be called up to the stage to pick up their flowers.

Maarten Tjallingii
“It was a tough day for me. I’d set my sights on the mountain jersey, but soon had I regretted being in the break a bit. At first, I was part of a nice group, but later on three good climbers joined us. I still tried to make the best of it, though. On the first category climb, I tried to surprise the others with an all-or-nothing effort, but 200 metres from the top, I broke down.”

Merijn Zeeman
Merijn Zeeman thought that Tjallingii, the eldest of the young Team LottoNL-Jumbo squad, set the right example. “Maarten has done everything in his power and fought for the mountain jersey,” the sports director said.

“Today was challenging”, he continued. “Many sprinters were dropped along the way but Martijn Keizer and Maarten Wynants made sure that Tom found his way back to the peloton. They deserve a compliment.

“In the final kilometre Tom lost Mike and Dennis. We want to do better in the coming sprints. I’m confident that we will.”

Tuesday
Tuesday’s stage is long and flat, but in the final kilometres, the riders have to tackle a fair amount of climbing. “When I look at the profile of the stage, I expect a small group sprint,” Zeeman said.