Juan Guillermo Martínez made a painful mistake on Saturday in the third stage of the Tour of Norway. The Colombian thought he had won, but still had one lap to go and then saw the victory go to Maxim Van Gils.
Martínez, riding for Picnic PostNL, was at the front with Dutchman Jelle Johannink (Unibet Tietema Rockets). With over 22 kilometers to go, Martínez crossed the finish line cheering, not knowing he still had one lap to ride.
When the twenty-year-old Martínez realized he had cheered too early, he tried his best to maintain his lead. He failed, and the stage was decided in the uphill sprint.
Overall leader Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike) had already won against Van Gils on Friday and started the sprint early. But the Belgian from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe had the last word this time.
Brennan did retain his orange leader’s jersey. The nineteen-year-old top talent is sixteen seconds ahead of the Monegasque Victor Langellotti (INEOS Grenadiers).
The Dutchmen Tibor del Grosso and Huub Artz are in fourth and fifth place in the general classification, more than half a minute behind Brennan. Sunday is the final stage, with start and finish in Stavanger.