The highly competitive Iran Tabriz Petrochemical Team demonstrated strong breakaway capabilities despite the cold front and headwinds. Notably, Austrian domestique Marcus leveraged his two attacks at climb points to build a lead, winning the third stage of the Tour de Taiwan in 2 hours, 40 minutes and 6 seconds. He also snatched the honorific yellow jersey from his teammate Medeiros by a 12-second margin.
The stage started from Taoyuan County Government, passing through Zhuwei, Yong’an, Xinyi, Qingpu, Neili, Zhongli, Longtan, Daxi, and finishing at the Cihu Visitor Center — a total distance of 114.60 km. Due to the cold wave, riders faced tough headwinds along coastal sections.
The strong Iran Tabriz Petrochemical Team launched their breakaway as soon as they entered the urban area, with average speeds surging instantly. Climb specialist Marcus was the first to cross the line at the particularly challenging 401-meter high climb point, and then led the pack before the second-to-last climb before the finish. These two climb points alone allowed Marcus to pull away from the rest and secure the stage win. Australia’s Pro Racing Pokolbin finished 21 seconds behind in second place, while Hong Kong’s Champion System’s Owain Brown, who secured 13 points across three sprint points, came in third, 44 seconds off the pace.
Marcus said casually, “Although many riders found the course tough, our team often trains in temperatures as low as 7°C. For me, around 10°C feels extremely comfortable — no pressure at all.”
After adapting through the first three stages, today’s route is set to take riders directly from Hsinchu to Sun Moon Lake. The 182.67 km expedition, featuring a climb as high as 869 meters, has already daunted many cyclists. Iran Tabriz Petrochemical Team manager Kohardt expressed full confidence, saying that with so many seasoned and skilled riders on the squad, their sole goals in Taiwan are to win both the individual and team overall championships — the yellow jersey is absolutely not going to another team.
As for the ever-entertaining Medeiros, he was still joking about food after the race. “I’ll definitely get the yellow jersey back in Stage 4 — every stage winner gets prize money, and seeing that cash makes me happy!” Medeiros said with a grin.