Published on : 09/18/2026
What a finish! Jamie Meehan was part of a leading quartet that had broken away in two stages on the final climb of this third stage of the Tour of Slovakia, but the chasing group eventually caught up with them 300 metres from the finish line. Benjamin Thomas took second place.
This third stage was full of uncertainty: would the favourites battle it out for victory on the final steep climb, 20 km from the finish, or would a larger group be in contention?
Right from the start, the team controlled the day’s breakaway, with Lajarin and Simon Carr putting in a lot of work. On this final climb, well set up by Biermans and Joalland, Jamie Meehan was the first to attack. After being counter-attacked by two riders, he found himself in a two-man chasing group that eventually caught up with the main field 3 km from the finish. It looked as though they would battle it out for victory, but a group caught up with them 300 metres from the line. Van Eetvelt then launched his attack 300 metres out and managed to stay a few metres ahead of Benjamin Thomas, who narrowly missed out on winning the sprint from this small peloton. Jamie finished 9th and showed that he will be a force to be reckoned with on Sunday during the queen stage.
Quotes
Evaldas Siskevicius
“At the pre-race briefing, we’d targeted Jamie’s attack, but he certainly went for it a bit too early, which is why he was caught out. But the plan was to keep Benjamin in reserve in case the peloton came back together. He put in a solid performance, but I want to highlight the superb work done by the whole team throughout the day. Tomorrow, we’ll give it a go with Jenthe – he’s in good form, as he showed again today by putting in the work – and we’ll see how it goes.”
Benjamin Thomas
“The plan at the start was for Jamie to attack on the final climb, whilst I’d slot into the group just behind to wait for the sprint if the peloton came back together. In the final kilometre, I saw the peloton closing in and decided to launch my sprint quite early, but Van Eetvelt was the strongest and held off the chase very well. I finished second, but it’s still a good result for the team. I’d been ill since yesterday; I was even wondering whether I’d be able to start, but in the end everything went well today. On Sunday we’ll try to make the most of the mountainous terrain, and it’ll be down to our legs.”
