ZLM Tour 3rd stage, again Lonardi best Italian at the finish line and Maestri best Italian in the GC

In the third raceday of the ZLM Tour, a ride southward on the typical Dutch bridges and streets, three out of four breakaway riders made it all the way to the finish line, holding off the peloton’s chase by a handful of meters. In the sprint behind them Giovanni Lonardi was the fourth to cross the finish line, therefore placing 7th.

In all three stages played so far (the opening time trial and the two road stages), the best placed Italian rider is a member of Team Polti Kometa. Furthermore Mirco Maestri, eleventh in the ITT on wednesday, managing to stay in the bunch despite a puncture in the finale climbs to 9th position in the general classification.

After yesterday’s fourth place finish, Lonardi secures another top-10 and has two more attempts ahead of him over the weekend: “I had to spend a lot to try to close the gap,” explains the Veronese sprinter, “and despite taking the corners before the finish in a good position, it wasn’t possible to do better than this.”

This is the commentary by Biagio Conte from the team car: “After leading a strong chase yesterday, today we stayed more hidden and gave it our all in the final kilometers. Congratulations to the Continental riders who battled for the victory, we were unlucky in the sprint maneuvers where both Maestri and Peñalver suffered punctures. Both did well not to lose ground, but they couldn’t lead Lona who had to fend for himself.”