Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista Del Sol 2017: Stage 3

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January 1 - February 19, Lucena, Andalucia, Road - 2.HC

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Welcome to live coverage of stage 3 of the Ruta del Sol. It's time trial day out there so sit back and follow the action right here. 

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Bienvenido a etapa 3. It's time trial day in Spain and the action is already underway. 11 riders out on course and we should have some finishers very soon. 

Two of today's stage favourites are out on course, Mathias Brandle and Marcin Bialobloki. We'll have to wait and see what benchmark they set. 

The course is short and sweet today at just 11.9km. This is what it looks like. 

Arashiro is the latest rider to roll down the starting ramp. You can find all the start times right here. Alberto Contador will be last off at 16:30 local time. 

Information about timing is a little scarce at the moment but it appears Mathias Brandle has posted the quickest time so far, stopping the clock at 15:23.

There will be a good battle for the stage win today but the really interesting fight will be for the general classification. It's close at the top of the standings and today's time trial could see things turned on their head. 

Alberto Contador is in the red of race leader after a great ride yesterday. We'll have to wait and see what he can do but earlier today his team confirmed that he'll be off to Abu Dhabi after the Ruta del Sol, after adding it to his calendar. You can read the full story here. 

33 riders have no begun their effort. Mathias Brandle still holding firm in the hotseat. Bialobloki unable to knock him off. 

In theory, we may well have seen our winner already today. We are still to see Vasil Kiryienka so Brandle's place in the hotseat isn't secure just yet. 

We've already had some racing action today with the Tour of Oman. It was a frenetic finale but, in the end, it was Alexander Kristoff that took the honours. Read our full report here. 

We have our reporter Alasdair Fotheringham out at the Ruta del Sol. This is his summation of the course today:

Martijn Keizer of LottoNL-Jumbo has just finished and he pushes Brandle off the top spot with his time of 15:30. 

The margins are close out there and the smallest of errors can do some real damage to your time. Still plenty of riders to come as we're only a little over a third of the way through. 

Ok so a not so small margin here. Victor Campanaerts has destroyed the time of his teammate and put in a time of 14:55. He is the new leader at the moment. 

A look at some of the top times today. 

Tim Wellens started about five minutes ago. Here he is on that smaller bike at the start. 

Vasil Kiryienka is now out on course. What can the 2015 time trial world champion do?

Pierre Rolland will be off in the next few minutes. The Frenchman had a bit of a mishap on a speedbump in training and crashed. A few scratches but he seems ok. 

Tim Wellens going well out there. He's plugging along at around 50kph at the moment. 

Wellens completes the course in a time of 15:15, enough for second but still 20 seconds of Campanaerts.

Hugh Carthy had a tough time out there. An early mechanical issue put paid to any hopes of a solid time for him. 

15:16 for Kiryienka. That's the third best time today. 

This is how things stand at the top after Kiryienka's ride.

Outside of today's racing action Jonathan Tiernan-Locke announced that he has officially retired. Read what the former Team Sky rider had to say here. 

Problems for Ludvigsson and his chain. That's a big blow for the FDJ rider. 

Ludvigsson is doing all he can to make up for lost time. He's right down on the top tube to try and get as aero as possible on one of the descents.

And Ludvigsson has crossed the line in a time of 15:20, making him fourth quickest at the moment. 

At present there is a minute between each of the riders but that will go up to two when Warren Barguil sets off in 20 minutes. 

Gorka Izagirre just misses out on the top 10 with the 11th fastest time of the day. Wanty's Marco Minnaard is on the start ramp. 

An impressive effort for Fabio Felline with a time of 15:04. He's been working hard on team duties this week so that's a good showing. 

A little problem for David Belda. He has a little wobble coming down the start ramp but he manages to stay upright, thankfully. 

We're getting to the pointy end of today. Less than 20 riders remaining as Firsanov begins his effort. 

Lots of tech on show during the stage and yesterday we paid a visit to the London Bike Show to see a bit more of the tech being used by the pros this season. Take a look at our extensive gallery here. 

Stef Clement is out on course at the moment. It will be interesting to see what he can do. He has a good record in time trials. 

Ondrej Cink has started his time trial. The former mountain biker has had a very good race and is just over a minute down in the overall classification. 

The latest standings as we await the GC contenders to begin. 

A, perhaps, disappointing 15:37 for Clement. He goes into provisional 11th for now. 

We're into the last 10 riders and Uran is the next to begin his effort. 

Before the GC riders finish, another reminder of the time gaps in the overall classification. 

Mikel Landa has begun his time trial. He has been working on his time trialling over the past couple of years but it's certainly not a discipline that he enjoys. 

Ion Izagirre on the start ramp. He could threaten the stage win and certainly looks like a good bet to take the race lead today. 

Cink finishes with a good time of 15:34 and he just edges out Le Bon to move into the top 10. 

Pinot about to get underway and we've just got Contador to come. 

Contador is off! All the riders have started. 

Mikel Landa comes into the finish and posts a time of 15:37. Just outside the top 10 but that's a solid ride from the Spaniard. 

A smashing time from Poels who goes third fastest with his time of 15:11. That's a very good ride for the Dutchman. 

Just five riders to finish. It's getting tense out there. 

Rosa comes home in a time of 15:39. He's going to drop down the standings a bit after that. 

Pinot cutting some fine margins on the corners. He's going well out there in the skinsuit of French national champion.

A problem for Izagirre. He's retired but no information as to why. A crash perhaps. 

A brilliant performance from Alejandro Valverde. He goes second fastest just a second slower Campenaerts. The Belgian must have been a bit nervous there. 

Contador went second fastest at the intermediate split, can he hold that pace?

15:04 for Pinot and he goes third fastest. This is very close. 

Contador drives to the line. The clock doesn't stop as he crosses the line but it looks like he might have just kept hold of his lead. We'll have to see.

This is how the stage finished today with Campanaerts taking the win. 

I stand corrected. It is Valverde in the leader's jersey, by a single second. That was bloomin' close. 

And here it is, the general classification

No news yet on the status of Ion Izagirre, we'll keep you updated as and when the information comes in.

The result has really set things up for an exciting day of racing. Valverde, Contador and Pinot are all so close together and Poels could still very much play a factor at 21 seconds down. 

This is what faces the riders during tomorrow's stage. 

Alejandro Valverde puts on the red jersey for the second time during this race. 

And here is your stage winner Victor Campenaerts on the podium. 

Our full report from today's stage of the Ruta del Sol is here. We will have pictures and complete results very soon. 

That's it from us today at the Ruta del Sol. We'll have more live coverage tomorrow. 

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