"We will certainly feel that loss in the remainder of this race" - Visma | Lease a Bike have to recover from loss of Ben Tulett at Itzulia Basque Country

The third stage of the Itzulia Basque Country was very hectic at times, but Visma | Lease a Bike did not get caught up in any trouble. All riders crossed the finish line unscathed, although the day for the Dutch formation didn't kick off ideally.

Ben Tulett, on paper one of the most important helpers of leader Jonas Vingegaard, has not felt fit in recent days and therefore did not appear at the start of stage 3. "The day started on a bad note for us, because Ben could no longer start. We will certainly feel that loss in the remainder of this race," sports director Frans Maassen explains on team website.

The other riders of the team stayed out of trouble. "In the end, we can rub our hands that we got through this day well," Maassen summarizes. "With all the crashes, we can consider ourselves lucky to have reached the finish line unscathed. So we end this stage with a good feeling and as a team we look forward to tomorrow."

Vingegaard is still fifth in the general classification, fourteen seconds behind Primoz Roglic. However, the latter suffered superficial wounds on his right side, and bruises. An additional investigation into the injuries of the leader of the race will follow.