Cycling: David De la Cruz (Quick-Step Floors) slammed on Stage 3 of the Tour of the Basque Country. The Spaniard secured the day's victory with an attack on the last hill with a lead of three seconds. He also takes the lead in the overall standings.
The top staffed group is not left far behind
After Michael Matthews (Sunweb) the 1st stage and Michael Albasini (Orica-Scott) the 2st stage were able to win in the mass sprint, a hilly section was on the program today. The field drove over 160,5 kilometers from Vitoria-Gasteiz to Donostia. On the way, six mountain classifications had to be mastered. With the Mendizorrotzko, the summit of the last climb was only crossed 10,5 kilometers before the finish. With an average gradient of five percent and a length of 7,7 kilometers, the Mendizorrotzko should prevent a mass sprint. Nine escapees saw a chance for a successful escape: Alessandro De Marchi (BMC), Stéphane Rossetto (Cofidis), Alew Howes (Cannondale-Drapac), Eros Capecchi (Quick-Step Floors), Antonio Nibali (Bahrain-Merida), Jakub Fuglsang (Astana), Matteo Montaguti (Ag2r), Sergio Pardilla (Caja Rural) and Arnaud Courteille (FDJ). The good cast caused the peloton not to allow a large lead.
David De la Cruz wins as a soloist and strips yellow
Most of the drivers from the leading group were caught early. Fuglsang and De Marchi were still fighting for the mountains classification before they were caught. Almost at the same time, Simon Yates (Orica-Scott) and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) suffered a defect. The Spaniard immediately got on team-mate Antonio Pedrero's bike and was able to catch up. In the last climb Mikaël attacked Cherel (Ag2r). David De la Cruz (Quick-Step Floors) jumped onto his rear wheel. De la Cruz left his companion standing and was able to extend his lead over the ever-shrinking peloton. Counterattacks by Alexis Vuillermoz (Ag2r), Romain Bardet (Ag2r), Primož Roglič (LottoNL-Jumbo) and Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale-Drapac) failed. After all, they meant that overall leader Michael Matthews (Sunweb) was no longer able to keep up. There was no organized pursuit on the descent. De la Cruz was able to save himself with a narrow lead to the finish. He now leads the overall standings by three seconds.
Result of the 3th stage of the Tour of the Basque Country
Tour Locations | Driver | Country | Team | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | David De La Cruz | Spain | Quick Step Floors | 3:54:25 |
2. | Michal Kwiatkowski | Poland | Sky | + 0: 03 |
3. | Jay McCarthy | Australia | Bora, hansgrohe | st |
4. | Alejandro Valverde | Spain | Movistar | st |
5. | Giovanni Visconti | Italy | Bahrain Merida | st |
6. | rudy molard | France | FDJ | st |
7. | Diego Ulissi | Italy | UAE | st |
8. | Patrick Conrad | Austria | Bora, hansgrohe | st |
9. | Tosh Van der Sande | Belgium | Lotto Soudal | st |
10. | Warren Barguil | France | Sunweb | st |
General classification after the 3th stage of the Tour of the Basque Country
Tour Locations | Driver | Country | Team | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | David De La Cruz | Spain | Quick Step Floors | 12:14:54 |
2. | Jay McCarthy | Australia | Bora, hansgrohe | + 0: 03 |
3. | Alejandro Valverde | Spain | Movistar | st |
4. | Michal Kwiatkowski | Poland | Sky | st |
5. | Patrick Conrad | Austria | Bora, hansgrohe | st |
6. | rudy molard | France | FDJ | st |
7. | Tosh Van der Sande | Belgium | Lotto Soudal | st |
8. | Luis Leon Sanchez | Spain | Astana | st |
9. | Romain Bardet | France | Ag2r | st |
10. | Reuben Fernandez | Spain | Movistar | st |
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