The strong sun was no impediment for Wout van Aert to conquer the third stage of the 2024 Vuelta a España. The Belgian rider ended a two-year drought and, dressed as a leader, took the victory in a fast and exciting sprint. The Colombian cyclists in the race resisted the fraction and reached the finish line with the peloton.
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The last stage was run on Monday in Portugal. The 191.2-kilometre section, starting in Lousa and finishing in Castelo Blanco, was made difficult by the high temperatures that are hitting the Iberian Peninsula at this time of year.
Stage 3 was designed for sprinters, the route had several slopes, a second category mountain prize and another fourth category prize, but the finish was on flat ground, ideal for sprinters.
The breakaway of the day started very early, Unai Iribar, Ibon Ruiz, Xabier Isasa and Luis Ángel Maté went out to try their luck and left the peloton, which gave the riders space to get to the front of the race.
The four cyclists reached the top of the mountain stage alone, without any resistance from the pack, and were riding at around 3 minutes ahead of the group in which the leader of the Vuelta a España, Belgian Wout van Aert, was travelling.
Nairo Quintana, Rigoberto Urán, Daniel Felipe Martínez, Santiago Umba, Harold Tejada, Brandon Rivera and Einer Rubio were travelling with the peloton under the intense rays of the sun.
After the second mountain prize, the group picked up the pace and began to hunt down the escapees. With 19 kilometres to go, a single block formed, and the escapees rejoined the peloton which was heading towards the finish line together.
Everything was decided in the sprinting, the teams made their strategy to launch the sprinters who had to take advantage of a flat stage to seek victory.
Belgian Victor Campenaerts was the first to move the group with a kilometre to go and went for the win, but the peloton fought back to decide everything in the sprint. Wout van Aert, dressed in red as leader, took a spectacular victory and increased his lead in the general classification, ending a two-year drought.
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