Vuelta a San Juan 2017 Stage 3

photo credits @ Bahrain-Merida Cycling

Bahrain-Merida’s Ramunas Navardauskas claimed stage 3 of the Vuelta a San Juan yesterday, after the Lithuanian rider set the fastest time along the 11.9 kilometer individual time trail course.

Yesterday’s victory not only earned Navardauskas the stage honors, but moved him into the overall race lead as well.

“On the way out there was a tailwind, but on the way back it was a headwind, and there were a couple of bumps on the road too, which took out a bit of speed,” said Navardauskas.

“It’s the first race of year and every rider is in a different shape. You’re always nervous before the first race because you don’t know how your legs are, but the results show you if you’re ready or not”, he added.

Race Highlights

Navardauskas handed Bahrain-Merida its very first victory as a professional team yesterday, after eclipsing Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) and  his teammate Matthias Brandle with a best time of 14:03.

As a result, Navardauskas took over the leader’s jersey from Elia Viviani, and now leads the race by 3 seconds over Mollema, followed by Brandle who sits in third place another 4 seconds back.

The Vuelta a San Juan continues today with a 122.1 kilometer stage that starts and finishes in San Martin, which will once again flavor the sprinters.

However, Friday’s stage 5 will feature a series of challenging categorized climbs that includes a summit finish atop the 2565 meter climb of the Alto de Colorado which will likely influence the standings in the overall classification.

Vuelta a San Juan 2017
1. Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Bahrain-Merida, in 14-03
2. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo, at 3 secs
3. Matthias Brändle (Aut) Trek-Segafredo, at 7 secs
4. Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Quick-Step Floors, at 7 secs
5. Walter Vargas (Col) Medellin-Inder, at 17 secs
6. Sebastian Trillini (Arg) Italomat-dogo, at 19 secs
7. Oscar Sevilla (Esp) Medellin-Inder, at 19 secs
8. Laureano Rosas (Arg) Argentina, at 21 secs
9. Ricardo Escuela (Arg) Agrupacion Virgen De Fatima, at 32 secs
10. Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Bahrain-Merida, at 32 secs
Other
13. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida, at 35 secs
14. Elia Viviani (Ita) Italy, at 35 secs

General classification after stage three
1. Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Bahrain-Merida, in 6-22-27
2. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo, at 3 secs
3. Matthias Brändle (Aut) Trek-Segafredo, at 7 secs
4. Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Quick-Step Floors, at 7 secs
5. Sebastian Trillini (Arg) Italomat-dogo, at 19 secs
6. Oscar Sevilla (Esp) Medellin-Inder, at 19 secs
7. Laureano Rosas (Arg) Argentina, at 21 secs
8. Elia Viviani (Ita) Italy, at 35 secs
9. Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick-Step Floors, at 29 secs
10. Ricardo Escuela (Arg) Agrupacion Virgen De Fatima, at 32 secs