"It is very nice to see that cycling is so alive in the Netherlands” - Julius van den Berg on riding Vuelta in his homeland

The third stage of the Vuelta a Espana saw Julius van den Berg take full points on the Alto de Amerongse Berg. The Dutchman was part of the breakaway and finished in 144th position.

"The battle for the early breakaway went a lot harder than yesterday," Van den Berg told WielerFlits. He explains, "In the beginning of the stage, there were attempts by Jetse Bol and myself, I honestly thought I had him, but De Gendt just passed me. In principle, it wasn't necessary to get points today as I finished at the front of the bunch, but I'm happy I was able to get the point and take the mountain jersey back to Spain."

It was a unique experience for the rider to race in such a crowded and competitive, “Never experienced this before. I have never seen so many people at a cycle race. On Friday, there were already rows of people at the team time trial in Utrecht, and today it was also very busy. It is very nice to see that cycling is so alive in the Netherlands,” said Van den Berg.

He is excited to show his performance in the mountain stages and even joked about it, "I am glad they are finally coming because as a mountain king, that is your thing," concluded Van den Berg. He currently holds 103rd rank in GC, 1 minute and 21 seconds behind overall leader Edoardo Affini.