Defending champion Demi Vollering claimed victory in the third stage of the Tour de France to complete a hat-trick of victories for Dutch riders on home soil.

The 27-year-old from Pijnacker completed the 6.3 kilometre course through the streets of Rotterdam five seconds faster than her nearest rival, US world champion Chloe Dygert.

Vollering’s surprise win in the short time-trial stage was enough to snatch the yellow jersey from the shoulders of her compatriot, Charlotte Kool, who earlier in the day won her second sprint stage on the 70km route from Deventer to Rotterdam.

Kool narrowly held off another Dutch rider, Lorena Wiebes, to cross the line in first place, adding to her victory in Monday’s opening stage from Rotterdam to The Hague.

Vollering, who rides with the SD Worx-Primetime team, sits in pole position as the riders head towards the French Alps, where she is regarded as one of the strongest climbers in the field.

“I’m really surprised,” she said afterwards. “I only managed one practice loop of the course because I had a lot of problems with my equipment, including a flat back tyre.

“We don’t do these short time trials very often. My team said the course was set up for me, but I thought it was one for the sprinters. It’s extra special to take the yellow jersey in my own country.”

Vollering leads the overall classification in the race by three seconds from her SD Worx team-mate Wiebes, with Dygert and Kool among a group of riders two seconds further behind.

On Wednesday the riders will set out from Valkenburg before crossing the Belgian border to finish in Liège, 127 kilometres down the road. The tour concludes on Sunday withe the seventh stage, a 150km route towards the summit of Alpe d’Huez.