Vuelta a Espana 2013 Results: Stage 3 Standings, Highlights and Recap

The third day of the Vuelta a Espana featured plenty of excitement, but in the end it was Chris Horner who was able to come away with the victory in Stage 3.

While the peloton was relatively jumbled on this flat course, the American was able to hold off challenges from the rest of the pack to win his first stage of the Spanish race in a time of four hours, 30 minutes, 18 seconds.

Infostrada Sports provided this interesting note about the win:

Alejandro Valverde was shortly behind the leader and finished in second place. Joaquin Rodriguez also reached the podium with an impressive showing to earn third place.

Here is a look at the top-10 finishers on the day:

Stage 3 was one of the flatter parts of the race, with the competitors traveling 184.8 kilometers along the coastline. The battle started at Vigo and ended at Vilagarcía de Arousa after a couple of short sprints.

Without a tough incline, there was little incentive to fight for an early lead, though a few challengers moved ahead of the pack:

These competitors were eventually caught by the peloton, but the drama once again picked up with about 36 kilometers left, according to Sky Sports Cycling:

The Inner Ring also notes that stage favorite Simon Gerrans was one of those taken out by the crash:

This crash led to a separation of multiple groups separated by over a minute. However, the majority of riders were able to rejoin the pack before long:

Of course, the trouble was just beginning, as riders were forced to go down this narrow entranceway on an incline for the finish:

This made positioning very important down the stretch, as each team had its own leader fight for a spot up front.

In the end, Horner was able to stay ahead of his competitors and leave with an impressive win. This provides a big change to the overall classification, as the cyclist becomes the new holder of the red jersey.

Vincenzo Nibali entered Stage 3 with the overall lead of eight seconds over Nicolas Roche. However, he falls back to the pack and will have to fight to get it back in the coming days.

Here is a look at the top competitors in the overall standings:

Roche, who wore the green jersey throughout the stage, moves into a tie with Valverde in the points battle. He also remains the top climber after the day.

The race continues Tuesday with a mountainous Stage 4 that covers 189 kilometers of ground. It will be up to the climbers to make moves in the overall standings and try to earn the coveted red jersey at the 2013 Vuelta a Espana.

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