PREVIEW & Favourites Tour of Britain 2025 stage 3 - Can anyone stop Olav Kooij?

We preview stage 3 of the Tour of Britain, which will be taking place on the 4th of September and it will be the third flat day where the sprinters get their opportunity. Olav Kooij will once again be the main favourite and man to beat. The stage is set to start at 12:45CET and finish at 15:20CET in Ampthill.

The third day of the race will start off in Milton Keynes and finish very nearby in Ampthill. It's a short stage which also does not feature any meaningful climb that could disrupt a potential sprint. There will only be 122 kilometers to race, making it a very explosive stage that should be rather fast.

Today's stage ended in a bunch sprint and the truth is that there was no competition for Olav Kooij, who is by far the strongest sprinter in the race. Yes, in flat bunch sprints it's easy for something to go wrong, but if the Dutchman can keep himself in position, then it'll be very hard for anyone to take the win away from him. Whilst on the opening stage there was an impressive Tord Gudmestad almost surprising in the uphill sprint, that won't be the case this time around.

Hence we can only look at a long list of C-tier sprinters who may be able to challenge the Dutchman, albeit only in specific circumstances - Kooij not entering the sprint well positioned. Luke Lamperti, Hugo Hofstetter, Tim Torn Teutenberg, Alberto Dainese and the veteran Alexander Kristoff are the most likely figures to be able to put up a fight.

*** Olav Kooij
** Luke Lamperti, Tim Torn Teutenberg, Alberto Dainese
* Hugo Hofstetter, Tord Gudmestad, Matthew Brennan, Alexander Kristoff, Samuel Watson, Tom Crabbe, Matevz Govekar

Pick: Olav Kooij

How: Regular bunch sprint, once again.