The Spaniard Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious team) won the third stage of the Vuelta al País Vasco (Itzulia Basque Country) this Wednesday, between Llodio and Amurrio, after which the Slovenian Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) continues to lead the general and the Ecuadorians in the race, Jefferson Cepeda (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA) and Jonathan Caicedo (EF), had different fates.
Cepeda climbed 52 places in the competition compared to the previous stage and is now 64th in the table (+8 minutes 40 seconds) after crossing the finish line 57th this day. Caicedo, for his part, fell from 101st to 112th place (+20:14) after being 132nd in Amurrio.
The winner Bilbao beat the Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step), who was second, and Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora), who came in third position, by just half a bike.
The Basque cyclist prevailed in a tight finish line from a small group of favorites after traveling the 181.7 km of a leg-breaking section with five mountainous difficulties.
“It is difficult to describe what it means to win at home, after so much time, after so many attempts… Finally! And above in front of a world champion”, Bilbao said after his victory.
“It was clear that the fastest of the group was Julian and that we had to follow his wheel. He launched his sprint from far and I had a little space to get him over the line. It’s amazing,” he added.
With a kilometer and a half to go, Alaphilippe’s teammate, Remco Evenepoel, gave the group speed to prepare the arrival for the Frenchman, who saw the Spaniard overtake him practically on the finish line.
“In the end, Remco has once again done an exceptional job for me. Unfortunately my legs still hurt and I started the sprint a bit early. And today I got a very strong Pello Bilbao”, said Alaphilippe at the finish line.
Roglic, who was in this leading group, continues to lead the general classification with a 5-second lead over Evenepoel.
Vlasov, sixth before the start of Wednesday’s stage, snatched third place from Frenchman Rémi Cavagna (Quick-Step) and fell 14 seconds behind the leader.
On Thursday, the fourth stage of the 185.6 km Vuelta al País Vasco will take place between Vitoria and Zamudio with two third-category and two second-category stops. (D)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
