Colombian Edison Callejas (Petrolike) took an emotional first win of his professional career atop Roccaraso on stage 3 of the Giro d'Abruzzo, soloing home eight kilometres from the top of the mountain.
The 24-year-old beat Georg Zimmermann (Intermarché-Wanty) by 40 seconds, though the German moved up into the race lead.
Zimmermann holds an 11-second advantage over David de la Cruz (Q36.5) at the top of the standings heading into Friday's hilly fourth and final stage. De la Cruz finished third on stage 3, six seconds down on Zimmermann.
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The battle for overall victory is still very much on ahead of the closing 167km stage to Isola del Gran Sasso.
De la Cruz lies in touching distance of the lead, while 19-year-old UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider Pablo Torre is a further seven seconds back. The Spanish super talent finished fourth on the stage, two seconds down on De la Cruz.
It was De la Cruz who kicked off the major attacking among the leaders as he jumped with 12km to go following a spell of hard work on the front by Stevie Williams (Israel-Premier Tech).
He couldn't get any separation from the other big favourites, but Callejas, who lay over 12 minutes down at the start of the day, was given more leeway when he attacked.
Callejas rode swiftly past the remains of the early break as he ventured off towards the summit. Behind him, the GC favourites came together, with Torre and De la Cruz leading a small group.
Zimmermann came across before the finish, too, ensuring he'd take over the race lead from Filippo Fiorelli (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè).
Callejas was long gone, however, entering the final kilometre of the stage with a 45-second lead. He had enough time to celebrate before the finish line, while Zimmermann had the fastest finish of the GC men.
"This is my biggest victory so far and I hope it’s only the beginning at races of this calibre," Callejas said after the win. "In the last metres of the race, I’ve thought of my family. I attacked when I realised the other riders were at the limits of struggling. It was very cold.
"I'm happy to deliver this victory to my team. This was the team of the late Gianni Savio who made me a big favour to give me a chance to race here in Europe. This win is for him.
"It was my dream to win in Europe. I'm happy to be here. Thank you to my teammates who helped me to get this win. My brother also helped me in all the difficult moments of my career"
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