Belgian Wout Van Aert, narrowly beaten on Sunday by Australian Kaden Groves, took his revenge by winning the third stage of the Tour of Spain in a sprint on Monday in Castelo Branco in Portugal and retaining his red leader’s jersey.
The Visma-Lease a Bike team rider this time emerged victorious from the sprinters’ duel that took place at the start of the Vuelta, winning his tenth stage victory in a Grand Tour, and his first in the Tour of Spain.
It is also the first World Tour success of the season for the Olympic time trial bronze medalist.
Van Aert thus retains his first place in the general classification on the eve of the first summit finish which should cause the first gaps, before concentrating on the green jersey, also on his shoulders at the end of this third day of racing.
“It’s worth being patient, it’s been a while since I’ve been able to raise my hands [pour célébrer] and it feels so good, Van Aert said. “I used my power and I threw early… I think I surprised [Groves] starting before the 200 meters… it was the perfect sprint for me.”
“The team was so strong, we controlled the whole race, they put me in the perfect position at the end which gave me the confidence to finish,” he added.
“Unfortunately the fun is over, tomorrow I will be happy to give the leadership role to Sepp [Kuss] and Cian [Uijtdebroeks]this will be the first test for the climbers and I will try to take advantage [de porter le maillot rouge] “once again,” explained the Belgian.
After three days in Portugal, the race arrives in Spain for the 170.5km fourth stage between Plasencia and Pico Villuercas in the Extremadura region, with a tough finish in the Sierra de Villuercas, where last year’s surprise winner Sepp Kuss and three-time Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe Slovenian winner Primoz Roglic will be looking to take the lead.