Orbea's Ruzafa and Lejarreta take over race lead

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Stage 3 proved a bit more technical and harder than the previous stages and it lead to a change of leadership in the men's category. Ruben Ruzafa and Iñaki Lejarreta (Orbea) won the stage and took over the lead in the men's race while Kristine Nørgaard and Sally Bigham (Topeak-Ergon/Hansens Flodeis) seem invincible in the female category.

Previous race leaders José Antonio Hermida and Ralph Näf (Multivan Merida) lost time and slipped to third place overall, finishing about 20 minutes after the stage winners. Näf was having problems with his back after yesterday's stage.

"I made a bad movement on the bike yesterday, and during today's stage, my back just got worse. It inhibited me from pedaling comfortably, so we decided to just concentrate on finishing the stage," said Näf.

Furthermore, a lead group of riders also got lost at one point during the stage, due to a course marking problem that organizers said was out of their control. Some riders lost time, but all got back on course.

The Orbea team, which is getting stronger day by day, took advantage of the circumstances and Lejarreta's good form to escape from the others on the Cerro Muriano downhill. The pair took over the lead and grabbed the stage win despite a painful crash by Lejarreta.

Hermida and Näf decided to quit the race after the stage, citing Näf's back problems

"Yesterday, we were already a little bit conservative as Ralph was suffering... But far from disappearing, they have become worse and started to affect his right leg," said Hermida. "We have had to slow down the pace and even stop a few times; this cost us a lot of minutes in the overall.

"It is a pity, as it is always nice to win, even more in a new race that has attracted people of a very high level. But the most important thing is to take care of the rider's health and Ralph
must get to the World Cups in good shape. A problem like his might not be critical in a two-hour
race, but this race is six demanding days." Hermida vowed to return in 2012.

In the women's race, Noergaard and Bigham took their third consecutive victory, demonstrating their superiority among the women. Spaniards Sandra Santanyes and Isabel Castro (Bicis Esteve) finished second in the stage.

In the mixed category, Cait Elliot & Josh Ibbett (Torq Performance MTB Team) were once again the first ones in the finish line. They were quite far in front of the others in their race, so instead made it a goal to beat the lead women's team, with whom they rode some of the stage.

Mads Boedker & Henrik Cohen (Danish Masters) also returned to the top of the podium in the masters category.

Because of the marking incidents which occured today, the Race Technical Jury made a decision to consider the results for the general classification for stage 3 as of the check point #2 (at 54km). However, stage results will be considered to be as of the finish.

Tomorrow's stage four will take the race to Jaen. It will start from Priego de Córdoba and will pass through a typical olive tree growing area. Racers should reach high speeds on the Via Verde. This fourth stage, the longest of the competition, will end with a spectacular climb to the Jabalcuz mountains, and temperatures are expected to be lower than the previous days.

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