photo credits @ La Vuelta
Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) emerged victorious in stage 3 of the Vuelta a España today, soaring across the slight uphill finish ahead of Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck), who couldn’t close the gap on his rival during the final 100 meters, while Jon Aberasturi (Euskaltel-Euskadi) sailed past Arne Marit (Intermarché-Wanty) to grab the final spot on the podium.
However, it was Victor Campenaerts who animated things during the final 1.5km, attacking along two uphill grades that put the rest of the sprinters in a bit of difficulty before going clear with 1 kilometer remaining. But, his efforts were brought to a close by Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL, reigning in the Belgian rider during the last few hundred meters.
From there, Alpecin-Deceuninck quickly went to the front for Groves, with Van Aert fast on his wheel. The green jersey and the red jersey then surged to the front and were shoulder to shoulder for about a dozen pedal strokes, until Van Aert took flight with 200 meters to go.
Race Highlights
Ibon Ruiz of Equipo Kern Pharma and Luis Ángel Maté (Euskaltel-Euskadi), marked the day’s first breakaway effort, who were later joined by their respective teammates Unai Iribar and Xabier Isasa.
However, the quartet was eventually reeled in with 20km to go, with Ineos Grenadiers leading a fierce pace of over 70km/h during the last 10km.
Alpecin-Deceuninck then took up the charge into the final 2km, navigating through a series of roundabouts into the inner-city finish. Hoping to surprise his rivals, Campanaerts sprung a flyer before the flamme rouge, but was quickly brought back in.
The finale, as expected, played out in a bunch sprint, with Van Aert prevailing ahead of Groves, and Aberasturi finishing third.
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