Moreno takes stage and overall lead in Asturias

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Javier Moreno (Caja Rural) moved into the overall lead at the Vuelta Asturias after winning stage three into Santuario del Acebo. Overnight leader Stefan Schumacher (Miche-Guerciotti) was unable to match his exploits on the previous day’s split stage and faded to 9th overall, more than four minutes down.

There was little respite to be had on a testing 195km stage over consistently rolling terrain, and the attacks came right from the start. The first major group to get clear was made up of Pablo Urtasun (Euskaltel-Euskadi), José Luis Cano (Andalucia-Caja Granada), Imanol Erviti (Movistar), César Fonte (Barbot) and Christian Meier (Unitedhealthcare).

They led over the climbs of La Garganta and the Alto de Santa Maria, gaining a maximum lead of four minutes, before Cano was dropped on the Puerto del Acebo.

The advantage began to tumble inside the final 30km, however, and a seven-man counter attack bridged across the four remaining leaders under impetus from Constantino Zaballa (Miche). Zaballa’s teammate Schumacher was unable to follow and his grip on the overall lead was quickly loosened by the men up front.

Inside the final 10km, the 11-man group broke up and reformed several times, as riders sought to ghost off the front to victory. Zaballa looked to have formed the winning break with 8km to go, when he brought Luis Pasamontes (Movistar) and Hernani Broco (LA Rota dos Moveis) with him.

However, in the final kilometre, Javier Moreno made his move, bridging up to the escapees and then soloing clear by himself to win by 8 seconds as the remnants of the leading group fragmented behind.

Moreno’s show of strength sees him move into the overall lead, 13 seconds clear of Sergio Sousa (Barbot), with the aggressive Zaballa 36 seconds back in third.

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