Ruta del Sol: Miguel Angel Lopez wins stage 3

Miguel Ángel López (Movistar) took victory in the third and Queen stage of the Ruta Del Sol

The Movistar leader also took the overall lead after attacking on the penultimate climb with only Antwan Tolhoek (Jumbo-Visma) able to respond before distancing his overall rival in the sprint for the line.  

Ineos Grenadiers had an afternoon to forget as first race leader Ethan Hayter and then fellow general classification hopeful Carlos Rodriguez both cracked on the penultimate climb. 

López and Tolhoek bridged across to the break including Movistar teammate Hector Carretero before the descent to the final climb at Villarrodrigo 

Carretero drove the pace on the 5.8 per cent climb to Villarrodrigo and Lopez put in a decisive attack 300 metres from the line with Tolhoek gapped in second, and breakaway rider James Piccoli (Israel Start-Up Nation) finishing third. 

López leads the race overall by 20 seconds from Tolhoek while after being in the breakaway all day Julen Amezqueta (Caja Rural- Seguros) is third overall 55 seconds down. 

Tomorrow’s fourth stage will be the first of the final two days for the sprinters with Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck – Quick Step) and Andre Greipel (Israel Start-Up Nation) amongst those ready to battle it out. 

“My team did an absolutely amazing job,” said López after taking the stage win and overall lead. 

“I found the seconds that I wanted in the overall and I found a few more at the end of the day. It’s nice to pay back my teammates after a great day. 

“It was great for (Hector) Carretero to help me in the final and we made the gap and the selection which proved to be important for the day. 

“The terrain is very difficult here with all the ramps and no flat at all. I’m very happy with the victory. We put in a lot of work from the team. 

“Our team had one objective today and that was to take the lead in this race and we got a stage victory as well. It’s not just for me but for my team as well." 

How it unfolded

Another hot day greeted riders for the stage at the Ruta Del Sol with temperatures reaching 26 degrees Celsius and no cooling breeze. 

After winning a grueling finish the previous day on the steep and cobbled climb to the finish Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) started in yellow ahead of the crucial stage with a mountain top finish on Villarrodrigo.  

King of the mountain’s leader Rui Oliveira (UAE-Team Emirates) had looked to get into the initial breakaway just seven kilometres into the stage, but he eventually dropped back to the peloton suffering from his injuries having crashed in each of the opening two stages. 

Eventually 12 riders went clear including Nikita Stalnov (Astana – Premier Tech), Nathan Van Hooydonck (Team Jumbo – Visma), Michael Ries (Trek – Segafredo), Hector Carretero (Movistar) James Piccoli (Israel Start-Up Nation), Philip Walsleben (Alpecin-Fenix), Julen Amezqueta (Caja Rural- Seguros), Thomas Spengers (Sport Vlaanderen- Baloise) and Urko Berrade Fernandez (Equipo Kern Pharma). 

Euskaltel-Euskadi were the only team to have two riders in the break with Mikel Bizkarra and Luis Angel Mate. 

However, the size on the break and with Amezqueta sitting just 48 seconds down on general classification meant Ineos Grenadiers kept them on a short leash on the mountainous stage keeping the gap under three minutes. 

On the day’s biggest climb over 14 kilometres (Alto del Fustal) Movistar started pushing the pace with 56 kilometres of the stage remaining for leader Miguel Angel Lopez, who started the day 10 seconds behind yellow jersey wearer Hayter. 

With Ineos Grenadiers equal to the pace Movistar eventually allowed the race leader’s team to regain control and the gap to the break reduced to two minutes with 46 kilometres remaining. 

By the first of two final climbs within the last 23 kilometres the gap was just over a minute to a hard-working breakaway as Owain Doull led the Ineos train. 

The breakaway eventually exploded with Piccoli dragging Carretero, Bizkarra, Fernandez and Amezqueta with him while Movistar once again forced the pace putting pressure on Hayter. 

With 19 kilometres to go the pace of Movistar on the Alto del Futsal eventually cracked Hayter. 

A kilometre later Lopez attacked and was joined by Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers), who sat 21 seconds down on general classification. 

The pair were joined by Jumbo-Visma rider Tolhoek who was also within touching distance of the overall, just 28 seconds down on Hayter. 

Rodriguez was the next Ineos Grenadiers rider to crack under the pace of Lopez who had bridged across to the breakaway and teammate Carretero with 15 kilometres remaining before the descent to the final four-kilometre climb to the finish. 

Carretero was driving the leading group down the descent and on the flat to the final ascent for team leader Lopez in a move to prevent Ineos Grenadiers pair Rodriguez and Eddie Dunbar regaining ground at 1:13 behind while Hayter was 1:49 behind in a large chasing group with five kilometres remaining. 

Onto the final four-kilometre climb to Villarrodrigo at 5.8 per cent, Carretero continued to drive the pace on the lower slopes. 

With a kilometre to go López made his move but on the shallow climb he was unable to shake Tolhoek and Piccoli. 

López launched his sprint in the last 300 metres and eventually gapped Tolhoek who took second with Piccoli finishing third.

 

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Full Results
Pos.Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Miguel Angel Lopez Moreno (Col) Movistar Team 5:03:26
2Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 0:00:02
3James Piccoli (Can) Israel Start-up Nation 0:00:06
4Julen Amezqueta Moreno (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:00:17
5Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:00:28
6Héctor Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team 0:01:25
7Carlos Rodriguez Cano (Spa) Ineos Grenadiers 0:01:29
8Toms Skujins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo
9Jonathan Lastra Martinez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:01:41
10Oscar Rodriguez Garaicoechea (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech 0:02:07
11Rune Herregodts (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:02:23
12Ethan Hayter (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
13Roger Adria Oliveras (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
14Ryan Gibbons (RSA) UAE Team Emirates
15Jefferson Cepeda (Ecu) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:02:25
16Jonas Gregaard (Den) Astana-Premier Tech 0:02:28
17Unai Cuadrado Ruiz De Gauna (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
18Floris De Tier (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
19Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Team BikeExchange 0:02:33
20Denis Nekrasov (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo 0:02:34
21Robert Stannard (Aus) Team BikeExchange 0:02:38
22Amund Grøndahl Jansen (Nor) Team BikeExchange 0:02:41
23Michel Ries (Lux) Trek-Segafredo 0:02:43
24José Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team
25Antonio Nibali (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:03:12
26Gonzalo Serrano Rodriguez (Spa) Movistar Team 0:03:35
27Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) UAE Team Emirates 0:03:48
28Finn Fisher-Black (NZl) Jumbo-Visma 0:03:50
29Jack Bauer (NZl) Team BikeExchange 0:04:02
30Antonio Jesus Soto Guirao (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:04:07
31Angel Madrazo Ruiz (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:04:32
32Daryl Impey (RSA) Israel Start-up Nation 0:04:36
33Yuriy Natarov (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech 0:04:39
34Ander Okamika Bengoetxea (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:04:41
35Eddie Dunbar (Irl) Ineos Grenadiers 0:05:13
36Carlos Canal Blanco (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:05:22
37Nathan Van Hooydonck (Bel) Jumbo-Visma 0:05:36
38Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo 0:05:45
39Gotzon Martin Sanz (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
40Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:06:20
41Urko Berrade Fernandez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 0:08:05
42Sebastian Henao Gomez (Col) Ineos Grenadiers 0:08:32
43Pascal Eenkhoorn (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
44Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Jumbo-Visma
45Stijn Steels (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
46Alvaro Cuadros Morata (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
47Thomas Sprengers (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
48Kenny De Ketele (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:08:49
49Nikita Stalnov (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech 0:09:42
50Jordi Lopez Caravaca (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 0:10:03
51Timo Roosen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 0:11:32
52Luke Durbridge (Aus) Team BikeExchange
53Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Israel Start-up Nation
54Hugo Hofstetter (Fra) Israel Start-up Nation
55Dmitrii Strakhov (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo
56Jannik Steimle (Ger) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:13:35
57Alexander Konychev (Ita) Team BikeExchange
58Nicola Conci (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
59Jose Felix Parra Cuerda (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
60Julian Mertens (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
61Brent Bookwalter (USA) Team BikeExchange
62Benjamin Perry (Can) Astana-Premier Tech
63Juri Hollmann (Ger) Movistar Team
64Philipp Walsleben (Ger) Alpecin-Fenix
65Abner González Rivera (PuR) Movistar Team
66Sergei Chernetskii (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo
67Mathias Vacek (Cze) Gazprom-RusVelo 0:15:40
68Owain Doull (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers 0:16:21
69Alexander Cataford (Can) Israel Start-up Nation 0:20:02
70Edward Anderson (USA) Alpecin-Fenix
71Isaac Canton Serrano (Spa) Burgos-BH
72Bert Van Lerberghe (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:26:45
73André Greipel (Ger) Israel Start-up Nation
74Matteo Trentin (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
75Marco Canola (Ita) Gazprom-RusVelo
76Ryan Mullen (Irl) Trek-Segafredo
77Rick Zabel (Ger) Israel Start-up Nation
78Jesus Ezquerra Muela (Spa) Burgos-BH
79Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Burgos-BH
80Francisco Galvan Fernandez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
81Ian Garrison (USA) Deceuninck-QuickStep
82Aaron Van Poucke (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
83Sander De Pestel (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
84Gleb Brussenskiy (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
85Yevgeniy Gidich (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
86Scott Thwaites (GBr) Alpecin-Fenix
87Owen Geleijn (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
88Tobias Bayer (Aut) Alpecin-Fenix
89Enrique Sanz Unzue (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
90Edward Planckaert (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
91Rui Oliveira (Por) UAE Team Emirates
92Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
93Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Gazprom-RusVelo
94Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
95Robbe Ghys (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
96Leonardo Basso (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
97Hector Saez Benito (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
98Jokin Aranburu Arruti (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
99Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo
100Jon Aberasturi Izaga (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
101Luke Rowe (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
102Shane Archbold (NZl) Deceuninck-QuickStep
103Sebastian Mora Vedri (Spa) Movistar Team
104Alvaro Hodeg Chagui (Col) Deceuninck-QuickStep
105Alex Kirsch (Lux) Trek-Segafredo 0:29:56
106Jaime Castrillo Zapater (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
DNSJay Vine (Aus) Alpecin-Fenix
DNFOrluis Alberto Aular Sanabria (Ven) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
DNFEdwin Avila Vanegas (Col) Burgos-BH
DNFMark Cavendish (GBr) Deceuninck-QuickStep
DNFYousif Mirza Al-Hammadi (UAE) UAE Team Emirates
Swipe to scroll horizontally
General classification after stage 3
Pos.Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Miguel Angel Lopez Moreno (Col) Movistar Team 14:02:31
2Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 0:00:20
3Julen Amezqueta Moreno (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:00:55
4Carlos Rodriguez Cano (Spa) Ineos Grenadiers 0:01:40
5Toms Skujins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo 0:01:47
6James Piccoli (Can) Israel Start-up Nation 0:01:50
7Jonathan Lastra Martinez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:01:51
8Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:01:52
9Ethan Hayter (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers 0:02:13
10Oscar Rodriguez Garaicoechea (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech 0:02:40
11Roger Adria Oliveras (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 0:02:45
12Robert Stannard (Aus) Team BikeExchange 0:02:49
13Rune Herregodts (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:03:03
14Ryan Gibbons (RSA) UAE Team Emirates
15Jefferson Cepeda (Ecu) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:03:09
16Jonas Gregaard (Den) Astana-Premier Tech 0:03:13
17Gonzalo Serrano Rodriguez (Spa) Movistar Team 0:03:50
18Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) UAE Team Emirates 0:03:51
19Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Team BikeExchange 0:04:04
20Antonio Nibali (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:04:16
21Finn Fisher-Black (NZl) Jumbo-Visma 0:04:51
22Denis Nekrasov (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo 0:04:53
23José Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team 0:04:54
24Daryl Impey (RSA) Israel Start-up Nation 0:04:57
25Angel Madrazo Ruiz (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:05:19
26Amund Grøndahl Jansen (Nor) Team BikeExchange 0:05:32
27Floris De Tier (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 0:05:43
28Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo 0:06:49
29Eddie Dunbar (Irl) Ineos Grenadiers 0:08:18
30Ander Okamika Bengoetxea (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:08:20
31Carlos Canal Blanco (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:09:30
32Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:09:34
33Gotzon Martin Sanz (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:09:36
34Michel Ries (Lux) Trek-Segafredo 0:10:10
35Sebastian Henao Gomez (Col) Ineos Grenadiers 0:10:28
36Héctor Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team 0:11:18
37Urko Berrade Fernandez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 0:12:00
38Nathan Van Hooydonck (Bel) Jumbo-Visma 0:12:52
39Jack Bauer (NZl) Team BikeExchange 0:12:59
40Kenny De Ketele (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:13:19
41Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Jumbo-Visma 0:13:47
42Jordi Lopez Caravaca (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 0:14:09
43Nikita Stalnov (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech 0:14:15
44Stijn Steels (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:14:35
45Dmitrii Strakhov (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo 0:14:37
46Jose Felix Parra Cuerda (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 0:14:46
47Pascal Eenkhoorn (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 0:15:44
48Yuriy Natarov (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech 0:16:45
49Julian Mertens (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:17:50
50Sergei Chernetskii (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo 0:18:34
51Unai Cuadrado Ruiz De Gauna (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:18:45
52Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Israel Start-up Nation 0:18:48
53Hugo Hofstetter (Fra) Israel Start-up Nation 0:19:34
54Luke Durbridge (Aus) Team BikeExchange 0:19:57
55Timo Roosen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 0:21:02
56Thomas Sprengers (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:21:38
57Alvaro Cuadros Morata (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:23:43
58Juri Hollmann (Ger) Movistar Team 0:23:50
59Philipp Walsleben (Ger) Alpecin-Fenix 0:24:02
60Nicola Conci (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:24:09
61Brent Bookwalter (USA) Team BikeExchange 0:24:35
62Owain Doull (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers 0:25:53
63Abner González Rivera (PuR) Movistar Team 0:26:26
64Edward Anderson (USA) Alpecin-Fenix 0:27:02
65Alexander Cataford (Can) Israel Start-up Nation 0:28:06
66Isaac Canton Serrano (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:28:09
67Marco Canola (Ita) Gazprom-RusVelo 0:29:15
68Antonio Jesus Soto Guirao (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:29:18
69Mathias Vacek (Cze) Gazprom-RusVelo 0:29:55
70Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:30:12
71Jesus Ezquerra Muela (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:30:21
72Yevgeniy Gidich (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech 0:30:24
73Jannik Steimle (Ger) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:32:44
74Benjamin Perry (Can) Astana-Premier Tech 0:32:49
75Gleb Brussenskiy (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech 0:33:59
76Shane Archbold (NZl) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:34:33
77Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates 0:35:25
78Alexander Konychev (Ita) Team BikeExchange 0:36:35
79Aaron Van Poucke (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:37:52
80Alex Kirsch (Lux) Trek-Segafredo 0:37:53
81Robbe Ghys (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:39:36
82Sander De Pestel (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:41:50
83Tobias Bayer (Aut) Alpecin-Fenix 0:42:07
84André Greipel (Ger) Israel Start-up Nation 0:42:10
85Jokin Aranburu Arruti (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:43:17
86Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Gazprom-RusVelo 0:43:36
87Scott Thwaites (GBr) Alpecin-Fenix 0:43:39
88Jon Aberasturi Izaga (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:44:41
89Edward Planckaert (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 0:44:51
90Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:45:14
91Hector Saez Benito (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:45:37
92Rick Zabel (Ger) Israel Start-up Nation 0:46:19
93Ryan Mullen (Irl) Trek-Segafredo 0:47:25
94Owen Geleijn (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 0:48:23
95Bert Van Lerberghe (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:48:59
96Alvaro Hodeg Chagui (Col) Deceuninck-QuickStep
97Sebastian Mora Vedri (Spa) Movistar Team 0:49:13
98Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo 0:49:26
99Francisco Galvan Fernandez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 0:49:32
100Matteo Trentin (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:49:47
101Enrique Sanz Unzue (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 0:52:12
102Leonardo Basso (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers 0:52:58
103Luke Rowe (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers 0:54:55
104Ian Garrison (USA) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:56:35
105Rui Oliveira (Por) UAE Team Emirates 0:57:02
106Jaime Castrillo Zapater (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 0:57:25

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