(Montreal) Everything was decided on the last climb of the day, Wednesday, at the third stage of the Tour of Catalonia. Guillaume Boivin and his teammates from Israel-Premier Tech supported Canadian Michael Woods, who however was unable to hold his own against the leaders at the end of the course.
Posted at 4:11 p.m.
Australian Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroën) attacked with just over 8 kilometers to go on this final climb. A few other runners tried to do the same afterwards, but none could catch up with O’Connor, who had built a 25-second lead.
He finally won the stage solo, out of breath, 6 seconds ahead of his closest pursuers. The first three stages of the Tour of Catalonia were thus won by representatives of Australia.
Spaniard Juan Ayuso (UAE Emirates) won the sprint for second place, just ahead of Colombians Nairo Quintana (Arkéa Samsic) and Sergio Higuita (BORA — Hansgrohe).
Michael Woods, for his part, was the 40and cyclist to cross the finish line, 39 seconds from the winner. Boivin was ranked 112and (+12 minutes 14 seconds).
This victory allows Ben O’Connor to put on the green and white leader’s jersey in the provisional general classification. He leads Juan Ayuso by 10 seconds and holds a 12-second priority over Nairo Quintana. Woods is up ten steps and occupies the 36and provisional rank, but his delay increased to 1 minute 22 seconds.
The fourth stage will be presented on a mountainous route of 166 kilometers on Thursday, which will conclude at the top of the Boi Taüll station.