Vuelta a Espana 2016: Stage 3 Results, Updated Standings and Highlights
Alexandre Geniez of FDJ won Stage 3 of the 2016 Vuelta a Espana, the first uphill finish of this year's race. The Frenchman was part of an early break and finished solo, holding off a late surge from the peloton.
The first real climb of the race did some serious damage in the peloton, with a host of top riders, including Tinkoff-Saxo's Alberto Contador, losing significant time. Team Sky's Chris Froome finished in fourth place, while Movistar's Ruben Fernandez is the new leader, taking over from Sky's Michal Kwiatkowski.
Here's a look at the Stage 3 results, via CyclingHub:
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Here is the overall classification:
"TOP 10 GC after Stage 3 #LaVuelta #LV2016 pic.twitter.com/hpGTMHf6NV
— CyclingHub (@CyclingHubTV) August 22, 2016"
Recap
The Vuelta is known for doing things a little different compared to the other Grand Tours, and the 2016 edition is no exception, as organisers planned the first uphill finish for Day 3.
The final climb of Mirador de Ezaro wasn't particularly long but had some steep sections, and the favourites were expected to battle it out for an early stage win.
It took just three days for the first rider to abandon, and it came as a shock to see Giant-Alpecin's Warren Barguil, one of the top leaders in this year's Vuelta, pull up to the side of the road. Per Etixx-Quick-Step's official Twitter account, the Frenchman quit due to health problems:
A group of seven riders broke from the pack early, including IAM's Simon Pellaud and Bora-Argon 18's Rudiger Selig. Team Sky set the pace behind the group, but with an eye on the summit finish, was more than happy to take it slow.
Pellaud chased Kwiatkowski by 73 seconds in the overall standings and was one of the more lively riders, taking aim at the polka-dot jersey as well. He attacked with some 60 kilometers left to ride and took top marks on the first climb before pushing on in an attempt to stay away.
The peloton increased the pace on the penultimate climb, with some 30 kilometers left, and the favourites started positioning themselves for the final assault.
Astana's Gatis Smukulis and Etixx's Pieter Serry tried to bridge the gap from the chasing group, while Pellaud kept plugging away. The extreme heat didn't make things easy on the Swiss rider, who tried to duck in and out of the shade.
His effort proved futile, as Serry and Geniez caught him and immediately dropped him on the penultimate climb. VeloVoices noted how badly the youngster was struggling:
The new leaders had a gap of almost four minutes over the peloton, and the stage win seemed certain. The pace was high in the peloton, however, and BMC's Tejay Van Garderen soon started losing ground on his main rivals.
Pellaud somehow battled his way back to the front, but with the final climb fast approaching, the situation seemed dire. With a 14 percent gradient, the climb was an absolute monster, even if the actual distance covered wasn't too bad.
Just before the peloton started the climb, there was a minor crash that left a handful of riders with a deficit to overcome. Sky took the lead, with Kwiatkowski doing lots of damage, while at the front, Geniez dropped his companions.
In the peloton, Movistar came to the front, along with Esteban Chaves of Orica-BikeExchange, and their combined forces did a ton of damage. Geniez held out for the win, but Contador, Van Garderen and Steven Kruijswijk of LottoNL-Jumbo all lost serious time on their main rivals.
Per Cyclingnews' Alasdair Fotheringham, Geniez explained how difficult the final climb was:
"It was hard out there. It felt L'Alpe d'Huez at the beginning of the climb, the crowds were huge and everyone was yelling and cheering me on. It was a great atmosphere but it was difficult to focus. There's no climb like in France, it's very difficult to time your effort, you can't stay together, you've just got to go for it.
"
Tuesday's stage will be quite similar to Stage 3 with another uphill finish, before normalcy resumes and the sprinters get another chance in Stage 5.
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