Two Soudal Quick-Step riders are in the top ten after the longest day of the week.
Mikel Landa climbed spectacularly in the overall standings of the seven-day race, one of the oldest and most prestigious in the world, after a rock-solid ride on the first of the three summit finishes scheduled this week.
Stage three of the Spanish race got underway from Viladecans and had all the ingredients of a big day in the mountains: 220 kilometers, 4800 vertical meters and four classified climbs, including a 21km special-category one that made sure of whittling down the peloton before the showdown on La Molina, which hosted a finish for the tenth time this century.
The Pyrenean ascent, where Remco Evenepoel took the victory two years ago, welcomed a reduced bunch numbering around 30 riders, including all of the pre-race general classification contenders. The finish line, located at an altitude of almost 1700 meters, came after 12 kilometers averaging 5%, and all the important GC guys kept their powder dry until the final 500 meters, when they ignited the fireworks.
A powerful acceleration netted Mikel his first podium of the season, behind winner Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates), and put him in third place on the general classification, where Soudal Quick-Step teammate is fifth after an equally impressive ride.
“I am content with this result because it was a complicated finish and I didn’t know what to expect, so to be in the first three and gain a few seconds on the others is good for the morale. We have two more hard summit finishes this week and with two riders in the top ten we are confident in our chances of getting a good result in the standings”, said Mikel after the stage.
Photo credit: ©Szymon Gruchalski / Getty Images
