Vuelta a Andalucia stage 3 live - Tim Wellens makes it three from three for UAE

Hola and welcome to our live coverage of stage 3 of the Vuelta a Andalucía Ruta del Sol!

We begin our live coverage as the riders sign-on and line-up in Alcalá de Guadaira near Seville.

Today’s 161km route from Alcalá de Guadaira to Alcalá de los Gazules is the easiest of the race on paper but with the chance of high winds affecting the peloton on the road south from Seville, they will have to be attentive at all times.

If the riders navigate the possible crosswinds safely then all eyes will be on the finish into Alcalá de los Gazules. With sections peaking over 15% the best puncheurs will arrive to the line first.

Here's Tadej Pogačar in the leader's yellow jersey, he is the heavy favourite for the day after winning the first two stages in emphatic fashion.

The flag drops and the racing is on!

On today's route we have one intermediate sprint point 90.9km in at Arcos de la Frontera, with six, four and two bonus seconds available.

Pogačar leads Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) in the overall general classification by 48 seconds with the Colombian's teammate Mikel Landa in third, 52 seconds behind.

To read how Pogačar extended his gc lead on stage 2 with a second win, checkout our full stage report.

Tadej Pogacar powers past Mas on final climb to repeat at Vuelta a Andalucia with stage 2 victory

150km to go

A group of 20 riders have attacked off the front of the peloton and have started to build their gap out towards the minute mark

The breakaway’s gap increases to 1’50” and among those present are Felix Engelhardt (Team Jayco AlUla), Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies) and Geoffrey Soupe (TotalEnergies).

The updated number of riders in the front group is 22.

Pogačar has two teammates in the break in Tim Wellens and Domen Novak, perhaps employing the same tactic as yesterday's stage where UAE Team Emirates allowed Alessandro Covi to venture out into the break and relieve them of any duty to chase in the early stages.

A stage at the 2018 and 2019 edition of the Ruta del Sol finished into Alcalá de los Gazules, both were won by Wellens. He has made a flying start at his new team this season with a 6th place finish at Vuelta a Murcia and a podium finish at the Clásica Jaén Paraíso Interior.

135km to go

Alpecin-Deceuninck is the best represented team in the break with three riders, Samuel Gaze, Stefano Oldani and Dries De Bondt.

The latest time gap to the break was 3'45".

Race organisers have been forced to move the finish line 550m earlier than expected due to adverse weather conditions, with a risk of winds up to 75km/h.

The finish will now be in Plaza Alameda de la Cruz, with the final climb erased but the 3km rule maintained.

The best placed riders on general classification in the break are José Manuel Díaz (Burgos-BH) and Gorka Izagirre (Movistar), 6'23" down on Pogačar.

Domen Novak (UAE Team Emirates) is back in the peloton.

115km to go

With Wellens now the only UAE Emirates rider in the break, could we be in store for another February win for the Belgian who seems to always open the season firing on all cylinders? 

With Pogačar's team on the front, echelons have started to form in the bunch.

The complete list of riders in the 21-man breakaway: Edoardo Zambanini (Bahrain-Victorious), Samuele Battistella (Astana-Qazaqstan), Connor Swift (Ineos Grenadiers), Salvatore Puccio (Ineos Grenadiers), Laurenz Rex (Intermarché - Circus - Wanty), Joel Nicolau (Caja Rural), Erik Fetter (EOLO-Kometa), Davide Bais (EOLO-Kometa), Liam Slock (Lotto Dstny), Hugo Houle (Israel-Premier Tech), Ibai Azurmendi (Euskaltel - Euskadi), Cyril Barthe (Burgos-BH), Izagirre, Wellens, Engelhardt, De Bondt, Gaze, Oldani, Latour, Soupe and Díaz. 

With no threat of anyone in the front group taking the general classification lead from Pogačar, the break's latest time gap has gone out to 4'45".

Bahrain-Victorious have four riders in the top ten of the general classification: Buitrago (2nd), Landa (3rd), Damiano Caruso (7th) and Jack Haig (10th). Their only rider in the break is 21-year-old Edoardo Zambanini.

100km to go

See below how the riders are fanned across the road due to the strong winds.

The average speed an hour and half into the day's stage is 41.2km/h with the gap to the break now 5'10".

If the stage ended here,  José Manuel Díaz and Gorka Izagirre would leapfrog to joint fifth in the general classification, 1'13" down on Pogačar.

The front group is under 10km away from the first and only intermediate sprint point of the day at Arcos de la Frontera. Aaron Van Poucke (Team Flanders - Baloise) leads that classification at the moment by six points and is the blue jersey wearer.

80km to go

At the halfway point of the stage the breakaway still has a 5'10" advantage over the peloton.

Latest time gap to the break is 4'10". 

Diaz takes the intermediate sprint at Arcos de la Frontera ahead of Izagirre in second and Wellens in third. They take six, four and two bonus seconds respectively. 

65km to go

As we enter the latter stages of the race the riders still have to content with the Cat.3 Alto de Medina Sidonia which is 3.1km in length with an average gradient of 5.8%, before racing to the now modified finish. 

UAE Team Emirates are still working on the front of the peloton. With the wind coming from the east as they travel south, the riders are still cautious of echelons forming.

Novak who dropped back from the initial breakaway earlier is driving things on the front of the peloton in aid of Slovenian compatriot and current race leader Tadej Pogačar.

Small gaps appearing in the peloton with Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious) working with a trio of TotalEnergies riders to form echelons. Pogačar is safe with teammates. 

The strong winds have picked up and blew the breakaway so far to the right-hand side of the road that Liam Slock was forced into some cyclo-cross to avoid crashing. 

50km to go

Ineos Grenadiers are staying towards the front to stay out of danger. The bunch looks incredibly nervous in the wind. 

Pogačar is marshalling the troops to stay in control of the race. Movistar and Bahrain now moving to the front to protect their gc leaders. 

Rear wheel puncture for Laurenz Rex in the breakaway with Davide Bais and José Manuel Díaz struggling to hold on. 

Its absolute carnage in the wind at the front of the race. Zambanini and Azurmendi both off the back of the break. 

Rex has made it back to the other breakaway riders after his puncture. 

Díaz follows suit and also gets back into the breakaway. Bais is close behind as the front group nears its earlier total of 21 riders. 

41km to go

We are 7km away from the only categorised climb of the day, the Alto de Medina Sidonia (3.1km at 5.8%).

Tim Wellens looks comfortable in the front group, despite the windy chaos. He is staying awake to moves as De Bondt and Swift make attacks to try and split up the breakaway. 

Zambanini has made it back confirming that we again have a 21-man front group with the latest time gap back out to 5'30".

Mohoric is working to split up the peloton. Pogačar was slightly out of position as his fellow Slovenian put down the power, forcing his UAE teammates to bring him closer to the front. 

33km to go

Multiple surges in the breakaway but no separation as of yet. 

Oldani takes his turn to attack in the breakaway. Alpecin-Deceuninck are using their numerical advantage to try and split the group. Wellens again stay active ensuring he doesn't miss out on a move. 

The break is on the Alto de Medina Sidonia (3.1km at 5.8%) which could be used as a launchpad to separate the group. 

The wind is battering the front group forcing Samuele Battistella to unclip to avoid crashing. It's really dangerous out front. The team cars will have to relay the information to the peloton to ensure everyone stays safe. 

As the peloton hits the only categorised climb of the day, Mohorič distances himself slightly off the front of the group but quickly drops back when he realised. 

27km to go

The rain is starting to fall in southern Spain.

Unsurprisingly Mohorič looks as comfortable as ever on the small descending section that troubled Battistella minutes earlier. 

The riders have made the left turn that takes them towards the finish. They will no be greeted by the wind that was almost blowing them off the road, in their faces.

Also it's a good time to remember that the organisers were forced to move the finish line and take out the final climb due to risk of winds up to 75km/h.

Wellens should be fancying his chances for the day. 

Battistella took three KOM points on top of the Alto de Medina Sidonia ahead of Wellens in second and Gaze in third. 

23km to go

UAE Team Emirates have regained control at the front of the peloton with three riders now sat in front of race leader Tadej Pogačar. 

Wellens is getting information from the team car. He will have to contend with a number of other strong riders if he is going to win including De Bondt, Izagirre, Latour, Houle and Swift to name a few. 

Gotzon Martín (Euskaltel-Euskadi) will wear the KOM leader's polka dot jersey for at least one more day maintaining a six point lead over Alex Martin (EOLO-Kometa) and a 12 points advantage on Pogačar. 

It was all smiles for race leader Pogačar before the Stage 3.

The breakaway was forced to fan across the road due to the strong winds at the Ruta del Sol.

19km to go

Split in the front group! 

De Bondt, Nicolau, Slock, Soupe and Díaz have moved away from the other breakaway riders. Slock had to make a big surge to follow the split and now appears to be struggling.

Pogačar now has the whole UAE Team, except Wellens of course, sat in front of him to lead him into the finish at Alcalá de los Gazules.

The breakaway's gap is at 3'45".

12km to go

The peloton is strung out single file due to the tough headwind.

The break appear to be waiting to get closer to the line before launching any more attacks, as the wind is simply too strong to stay away in. 

Barthe shakes his head after he was blown off the road by the wind which has not let up at all. 

Despite the finish moving to lower down into town, it does still rise for around 1km. Wellens is still likely the favourite to come out on top. 

10km to go

Rex attacks out of the breakaway. Slock is left to chase in the wind. De Bondt snaps across to Rex's wheel as the rest sit waiting. 

The surges in pace are coming thick and fast in the leading group now as the riders approach the finish. 

The teams know that today's winner will come from the breakaway. 

The break slows as dribs and drabs of riders slip away. Alpecin and Burgos are using their multiple riders to roll attacks.

6km to go

With 17 riders still in the front group, a duo of Barthe and former Belgian champion De Bondt are just off the front. 

5km to go

The race banner for 5km to go is being battered in the wind.

Rex attacks again off the front but De Bondt is looking incredibly strong following each and every move.

Wellens has remained calm and not nibbled on the early moves. 

Rex looks strong with De Bondt forced into a real grimace as he tries to stay on his wheel.

It's been a fantastic start to the season for Intermarché-Circus-Wanty with multiple early season wins.

Can Rex do the business for the Belgian team?

3km to go

Houle is in pursuit! Its kicking off at the front. 

Battistella is clear with Houle now in contact and Díaz also there for company.

The peloton has calmed down.

2km to go

The trio are looking good to take the top-three places between them but they must not hesitate in the run in.

De Bondt is paying for his earlier efforts.

Houle is struggling on the final kicker to the line! Battistella looks the strongest but Rex comes from nowhere into the lead.

Wellens goes! The former Ruta del Sol winner has chosen his moment and is attacking the final climb. 

Wellens is flying away and is feeling none of the pressure placed on him as the favourite for the day.

His gap is huge as he approaches the line alone.

The would be his fifth stage win at the Ruta del Sol. 

It's not Pogačar but it is UAE Team Emirates.

Wellens is sat up already and crosses the line for the win. 

Latour follows him over the line for second with Battistella hanging on for third. 

It's Wellens' first win for his new team and their third win in as many stages of the Ruta del Sol for UAE.

They are truly dominating the early stages of the season.

They've also won every day of the week so far with Pogačar winning on Monday, Ulissi on Tuesday at the Tour of Oman, Pogačar again on Wednesday and Thursday and now Wellens on Friday to cap off an incredible five days of racing for them. 

Now we know how hard the run to the line still is, there is still a chance for gaps to be made in the peloton.

Pogačar is sat at the front waiting for somebody to try and attack him.

Pogačar eases to the line ahead of the main bunch with Buitrago and Teuns just behind him.

This was Wellens' 35th professional victory.

With no changes to the gc, his teammate Pogačar remains 48 seconds ahead of Buitrago in second with Landa in third 52 seconds in arrears. 

Tim Wellens crossed the line 14 seconds ahead of Latour in second and 15 ahead of Battistella in third. 

Laurenz Rex and Dries De Bondt tried a number of times to get away in the final 5km but once the break hit the final climb, Wellens was in a clear league of his own.

To read our full stage report by Barry Ryan and to see our growing photo gallery and full results, click below.

Tim Wellens takes solo win on Vuelta a Andalucia stage 3.

This ends Tadej Pogačar's winning streak, before today the Slovenian hadn't lost since the Giro dell'Emilia which was on October 1, last year.

He does of course keep his yellow jersey going into stage 4.

Wellens executed his plan to perfection in the break after looking strong for his new team at the Clásica Jaén Paraíso Interior and the opening two stages of this race, in aid of Pogačar, but today he got his reward with a stage win. 

Watch below how Wellens eased to the line after destroying the remnants of the breakaway on the final uphill stretch to the line. 

Thanks for joining us today for our full live coverage of stage 3 of the Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista Del Sol.

We'll be back tomorrow with live coverage of stage 4 to see if UAE Team Emirates can make it four wins from four stages.