Vuelta a Espana: Nibali wins stage 3 in Andorra

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Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) won stage 3 of the Vuelta a Espana into Andorra la Vella, jumping clear of a group of favourites inside the final kilometre. David de la Cruz (Quick-Step Floors) chased down Nibali but had to settle for second with Chris Froome (Team Sky) in third.

As the race really took flight on the final climb, Nibali looked in trouble on more than one occasion. The Bahrain-Merida rider lost touch almost as soon as the riders hit the foot of the ascent when Team Sky put the hammer down. He recovered enough to fight back to the group, but when Froome lit things up again, taking Esteban Chaves (Orica-Scott) with him, with eight kilometres to go it looked like Nibali's chances were over as he slipped back once again. He had to rely on his descending skills to close the gap to Froome and Chaves, eventually catching them and others inside the final kilometre.

Nicolas Roche was the first rider to make a charge for the line, but Nibali had no trouble catching and passing him with 400 metres to go. Nibali glanced over his shoulder as he approached the finish, but there was nothing to worry about as he stormed to the win. It will be a big boost for Nibali, but his performance on the climbs will be of some concern to the Italian.

Froome and Team Sky set their stall out in the finale of the stage, showing that Froome was going to take an aggressive approach to the race. Knowing from the Tour de France how close things could be, Diego Rosa set up Froome for the intermediate sprint. He took two seconds for his efforts which, along with the three seconds he took for third place, put him into the overall race lead. He holds a two-second advantage over De la Cruz, and BMC pairing Roche and Tejay van Garderen.

The biggest loser of the day was Alberto Contador, who lost contact after the initial surge from Team Sky and never regained contact with the favourites. By the time he reached the line he had given away 2:33 to his main rivals, his overall ambitions over.

How it unfolded

Starting the Vuelta a Espana in Nimes was always going to mean an early trip to the Pyrenees for the peloton. Stage 3 would pit the riders against their first major mountain test with a tough ride into Andorra La Vella. Following a lengthy neutral section, the break was quick to form with Caja Rural's Fabricio Ferrari igniting the move. Thomas de Gendt (Lotto-Soudal), David Villella (Cannondale-Drapac) and Anthony Turgis (Cofidis) followed him across the gap, and were later joined by Axel Domont, Alexandre Geniez (AG2R La Mondiale) and Fernando Orjuela (Manzana Postobon) after a short chase.

After less than 10 kilometres of racing, the gap had ballooned to 3:44, an advantage that would grow beyond five minutes at its maximum. It was then that UAE Team Emirates' Przemyslaw Niemiec decided to set off in chase and his doggedness payed off when he made contact after 10 kilometres of chasing.

The Polish rider was of no worry to Quick-Step Floors as they looked after the new race leader Yves Lampaert. The Belgian held a slim lead in the overall classification after winning stage 2.

Team Sky took over the pace setting on the Coll de la Rabassa as the race entered into Andorra. The speed quickly had Lampaert in trouble and his time in the red jersey seemed all but over as he dangled off the back. Their efforts also saw the advantage of the leaders brought down to just over two minutes as they began to shed the weaker riders off the back. With 40 kilometres remaining only Villella, Geniez and Ferrari remained from the original breakaway.

Meanwhile, Movistar, unshackled by the responsibility of a general classification leader, sent Antonio Pedrero up the road in chase of the ever diminishing lead group. He would join Ferrari, who was the next from the break to be dropped, before UAE Team Emirates' Rui Costa and Darwin Atapuma made contact. Their assistance was still not enough to hold off the brutal pace set by Team Sky in the group behind. Ferrari was the first of the group to get brought back, but Costa, Atapuma and Pedrero were eventually reabsorbed as they crested the top of the Rabassa with 30 kilometres to go.

Villella and Geniez still held a small advantage of 13 seconds at the top, but that would disappear very quickly with a much reduced bunch making the juncture halfway down the descent. While most of the peloton had slipped back on the Rabassa, all of the main contenders survived for the battle on the final ascent of the Alto de la Comella.

On the run into the climb, the riders passed through the one intermediate sprint of the day. It looked like that it would pass without incident until Team Sky struck out in the final metres, allowing Froome to take some the bonus seconds available. Team Sky then ramped up the pace as they hit the Comella proper, instantly putting many of the main contenders into trouble. Esteban Chaves and Fabio Aru were two of the few who could match the Sky train, but Contador could not. The Spanish rider, in his final race, was immediately distanced.

Froome took up the challenge himself as his final helper dropped off the front with just under eight to go. This time it was just Chaves who had the legs to keep contact with the Team Sky rider while Aru and Bardet helped lead the chase behind. Nibali was once again in trouble near the top of the climb, slipping back from the stronger pair.

Taking plenty of risks on the descent of the Comella, Aru and Bardet joined up with Froome and Chaves. With one kilometre to go, the rest of the chasers, including Nibali and Roche, were back in contention. Roche made the first real attempt to wind up the sprint, but it was Nibali who had his timing right to take the stage win.

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