Stage 3 Tour de Classic - Amstel / Liege - Bastogne

Today’s stage three of the Tour de France will be the toughest the riders have faced so far in this years Tour, taking the riders through parts of Germany and finishing in the Netherlands the course pays tribute to two of cyclings biggest one day events held in the spring (Amstel Gold Race and Liege Bastogne Liege). The course is over some of the very same roads and climbs as these two one day events including the ascent of the Cauberg with 2 kilometers before the finish.

Today’s course features 6 climbs in the last 90 kilometers of racing (cat 3 and 4 climbs) and will surely shake up the King of The Mountains competition. Expect the Rabobank squad to heat up the race as this is their back yard, the team is headed up by Michael Boogerd. Boogerd has won two stages of the Tour de France in recent years 1996 and 2002 and will surely want to win here “at home”.

The question for the day?

• Can the sprinters teams keep the race together?

Personally I think a rider like Valverde or Jose Azevedo will make a mad dash on the Cauberg in hopes of stealing the day from the sprinters. However GC leader Thor Hushovd is not worried telling reporters ”I know the Cauberg well and I know I can pass it. If the climbers attack us, there will be lot of work for our team but we’ll do everything we can to keep the yellow jersey.”