"Every day the wind got better, but this morning the stage was short and fast and the speed was really high."

Those were the words of Alexey Lutsenko after stage three at 3 Daagse De Panne-Koksijde. Lutsenko together with teammates Maxat Ayazbayev, Daniil Fominykh and Arman Kamyshev protected Andrea Guardini from the wind and speed during the morning stage, and watched as the Italian sprinter placed fourth in a photo finish.

Lars Boom started but withdrew from the morning stage to rest and continue preparations for Sunday's Ronde van Vlaanderen.

Dmitriy Gruzdev placed 12th in the afternoon time trial, finishing 44 seconds behind stage winner Bradley Wiggins of the United Kingdom.