Sam Bennett pays tribute to Fabio Jakobsen and Remco Evenepoel after Tour de Wallonie stage 3 win

Updated 18/08/2020 at 16:31 GMT

Sam Bennett won stage three of the Tour de Wallonie in a sprint finish at the final stretch in Belgium and paid tribute to Fabio Jakobsen and Remco Evenepoel.

Sam Bennett

Image credit: Getty Images

The Irish Deceunink-Quickstep rider crossed the line after it had looked as though a group of four - Zdenek Stybar (Deceunink-Quickstep), Greg Van Avermaet (CCC), Jonathan Narvaez (Team Ineos) and Loic Vliegen (Circus Wanty) looked to have pulled away with 10k to go.

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Arnaud Demare of Groupama-FDJ pushed his rival to the line but could only take second, though it was enough to earn him the yellow jersey as he moved into the overall lead.

There was some consolation for Lotto Soudal as John Degenkolb took the final podium place.

After the race, Bennett explained his tactics were loosely planned before the start of the stage.

We just said we'd ride aggressive, and I'd just float around some place. I knew my form must be some place somewhere. I didn't know if it would come back today, so we just rode our own race until after the last climb.

"The boys did a great job in the in the final today, and in position and the lead out. I think the whole team ran a fantastic race ad they're really proud to close out the job today."

Bennett also paid tribute to colleagues Jakobsen and Evenepoel, who have both suffered recent injuries, saying: "The team has had a lot of bad luck - hopefully the boys are having a good recovery."