Vuelta a España stage 3: LIVE - Peloton set for undulating day through Piedmont

Four riders get a gap and Lidl-Trek are already trying to block the rest of the peloton. However, Jayco-AlUla and another team get riders out of the block and things open up again.

Originally the stage was just over 134km long but now it is 131.8km of racing today.

Official start

The start is finally given and immediately attacks come with Lotto leading the way.

Garcia Pierna is actually being dragged by the hand by the commissaire motorbike.

Another mechanical with Carlos Garcia Pierna (Burgos-Burpellet-BH). At this rate they'll race the entire stage neutralised. Hopefully it will be sorted soon.

Chris Harper (Jayco-AlUla) is off the back after an issue. When he rejoins racing may then begin.

A brief delay with some mechanicals off the back. The riders have gone through the KM0 marker a while ago as the riders wait to get going.

Lotto, Intermarche-Wanty, Jayco-AlUla, Cofidis and Groupama-FDJ have riders right up towards the front to possibly go for the early breakaway.

It is a sunny and warm start but the clouds look very moody up the road as they head to the hills. It is unsure whether it will stay dry or not.

Abandon

Jorge Arcas (Movistar)

The Spanish veteran is the second confirmed rider to not start today after Zingle.

Neutral start

The peloton have rolled out of the neutral start and now ride 1.9km to kilometre zero.

The jerseys today:

Red - Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike)
Green - Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Polka dot - Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike)*
White - Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)

*Worn by - Alessandro Verre (Arkea-B&B Hotels)

No more red for Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck). He goes into green today which is something we're getting used to seeing.

Abandon

Axel Zingle (Visma-Lease a Bike)

On paper and fully fit, Zingle would be a rider who would definitely be looking at today. However, he has had to abandon the race after dislocating his shoulder in a crash yesterday. That shoulder then popped out again as he rode to the finish so the medical staff told him not to continue today.

Today's stage is a very lumpy one with an uphill finish. Saying that, the final climb has an average of just over 3%.

This could possibly see a rider like Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) with the likes of Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) hoping for a better result after yesterday's 10th place and a crash.

Pedersen will also be looking for redemption after getting boxed out on stage one an missing out on red.

Sign on is well underway as the riders get ready for the neutral start of stage three which is due in around 20 minutes from now.

Coming into this race, Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) was down as a possible GC contender. However, the Yorkshireman is instead aiming for stages with GC being a potentially happy achievement off the back of that...

>>> 'GC a key step but winning would be the biggest success' - Tom Pidcock makes stage victories in Vuelta a España main priority

Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) showed yesterday that he is the number one favourite going into this Vuelta with a stage win and the red jersey on day two...

>>> 'You don't let a stage win go by' - Jonas Vingegaard confirms status as top favourite with early triumph and overall lead in Vuelta a España

Australian Jai Hindley is at the Vuelta as the leader of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. He is on the comeback after a disappointing Giro d'Italia which he abandoned after a heavy crash.

'I want to show what I can do' - Jai Hindley targets GC at Vuelta a España in Red Bull's last Grand Tour before Remco Evenepoel joins squad in 2026

Here are the full results from stage 2

Ineos Grenadiers will be pleased with the performance of Egan Bernal yesterday, who sprinted to fourth-place in the first test of the GC riders' form.

'It's good for my morale to be up there' - Egan Bernal shows early promise with fourth at Vuelta a España first summit finish

It was an eventful stage yesterday, with Vingegaard pulling himself off the tarmac after a crash to out-sprint Lidl-Trek's Giulio Ciccone in the race's first uphill finish.

The Danish two-time Tour winner relieved any doubts of possible fatigue after the Tour de France, looking fresh and powerful as he won the small group sprint on Limone Piemonte to move into the red jersey.

Here's the full report if you need to catch up: Vuelta a España: Jonas Vingegaard pips Giulio Ciccone to win stage 2

The big news overnight, if you missed it, is that the team of race leader Jonas Vingegaard, Visma-Lease a Bike, had their mechanic's truck broken into with up to 18 bikes stolen.

Here's the latest on this story: Mass overnight theft of Visma-Lease a Bike bikes at Vuelta a España, police launch investigation

The riders are set for a lumpy day through the region of Piedmont on stage three with a testing uphill finish in Ceres. Will any sprinters be able to survive the final ascent, or will this be a day for the puncheurs of the peloton?

Hello and welcome to Cyclingnews' coverage of stage 3 of the 2025 Vuelta a España from San Maurizio Canavese to Ceres.