Deutschland Tour: Pellizzari celebrates on the queen stage, but Del Toro takes back the blue jersey.

It was a memorable day for Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), who confirmed his stellar form this August by winning the queen stage of the Deutschland Tour. Born in 2003, the Mexican sprinted past his great friend off the bike, Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), at the finish line in Bad Dürkheim, on a day that saw the Mexican reclaim the leader's jersey in the third stage of the German race.

The decisive attack came 33 km from the finish, on the Rotsteig, the toughest of the seven climbs along the 170 km stage. Here, Del Toro launched the attack that sidelined the overall leader, Frenchman Louis Barré (Visma-Lease a Bike), who was unable to maintain the pace. Pellizzari, however, was undeterred and closed the gap, catching the Mexican in what proved to be a winning two-man breakaway.

The two split the work for the final 30 km of the race, after having absorbed the day's attacker Nelson Oliveira (Movistar) on the Annaberg. A team effort between the rivals allowed them to reach the finish line together, where Pellizzari prevailed in the final sprint to take the stage win, while Del Toro reclaimed the blue jersey as the overall leader.

It was a day to forget for Barré: despite his team's attempts to limit the damage, and a few solo attacks, the Frenchman was unable to keep the gap below 49 seconds at the finish line. With only one stage remaining on Sunday, del Toro will start with a 52-second advantage over his French rival. If he can maintain it, it will be his fourth stage victory of the season in a stage race.