August seventh on Czech queen stage

AJ August put in one of the strongest rides of his young career as he took seventh place on stage three at the Czech Tour.

The young American was part of an elite GC group which edged clear on the steep slopes of the day’s final climb.

August hit the front briefly to up the tempo with three kilometres to go, and finished in the chasing pack behind solo victor Thomas Gloag (Visma | Lease a Bike) and leader Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates).

The INEOS Grenadiers worked well to help set up August on the run into the final climb. Connor Swift hit the front to stretch out the bunch, making life difficult for the peloton in the latter stages.

Earlier fellow youngster Michael Leonard had gone up the road as part of a 15-rider move. Leonard was reeled in with the rest of the group with 22km to go, and climbed well on the way to 21st on the stage.

The race concludes on Sunday, with August now up to 10th on GC, 58 seconds back on Hirschi.