Mennen, Lakata take control of Andalucía Bike Race

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After finishing third and second on the two opening stages, the Topeak Ergon Racing Team of Robert Mennen and Alban Lakata progressed to the top step of the podium for stage three and with their victory took over the general classification lead from Rudi Van Houts and Jose Antonio Hermida Ramos (Multivan Merida Biking Team 1).

Mennen and Lakata entered stage three in third overall, just five seconds down on Van Houts and Hermida and three seconds behind the other Multivan Merida Biking Team of Thomas Litscher and Ondrej Cink, winners of the opening stage.

Both Multivan Merida Biking Teams conceded considerable time to Mennen and Lakata with Litscher and Sink finishing sixth on the day at 13:45 while Van Houts and Hermida crossed the finish line for 14th place, 19:13 off the pace.

Litscher and Cink suffered the consequences of their extra efforts in the opening two stages and stated they decided to "reserve" themselves a little bit while Hermida was affected by an injury sustained on the previous stage which hindered his descending ability. "Everything can change in Andalucia Bike Race," said Hermida, who has not written off his team's chances for the general classification.

Mennen and Lakata lead overall by 9:57 on Jochen Kass and Markus Kaufmann (Team Centurion Vaude 1) while Litscher and Cink hold third on general classification at 13:42.

Elite women

Milena Landtwing and Sally Bigham (Topeak Ergon Racing Team) won for the third straight day and extended their considerable general classification lead even further over nearest rivals Margarita Fullana Riera & Sandra Santanyes Murillo (Massi-Bicisprint), who finished second on the stage and trail overall by nearly one hour.

Other categories

In the Master 30+ category, Spaniards Vicente Pla and Javier Cherro won today ahead of overall leaders Tomas Misser and Pablo Egeda, who crossed finish line 5:15 in arrears of the Monblau Delikia teammates. Carlos Molina Canton and Gonzalo Orozco Bernal (Bicikultura) rounded out the stage's top three, finishing 16:57 off the pace.

Manuel Gonzalez Guirao and Francesc Sabiote Ruiz (Doctore.Bike 1) won stage three of the Master 40+ category with a 1:07 advantage on overall leaders Anthony White and Richard Rothwell (Mt Zoom M Steels Cannondale). Josep Capdevila Ros and Javier Padros Franqesa (Blue Motors Ponts) were the third Master 40+ team to finish stage 3 at 24:35.

Annika Langvad and Thomas Bonne (Team Davinci-Specialized) continued their unbeaten streak in the Mixed category with their third straight stage win. Melanie Alexander and Matthew Page (Bikemagic), competing in their first Andalucia Bike Race, followed in second place at 25:11.

The fourth stage of the Andalucía Bike Race will see the debut of a new course covering 69km between Bedmar and Mancha Real with 2,497 meters of total climbing.