Crosswinds made for a nervous race, but in the end, stage three culminated in a bunch sprint.
Wednesday was another challenging day at the prestigious World Tour race, where several early climbs had to be tackled before the peloton took on some gentler roads. The final 30 kilometers were mostly on a descent, and there - minutes after the breakaway had been brought back - some teams forced just as the wind picked up and split the peloton.
Most of the Soudal Quick-Step boys were in the first echelon, from where two riders attacked and put 25 seconds into the bunch. The duo looked good and entered in the final kilometer with almost ten seconds in hand, but after a crash, the peloton overhauled them and Dorian Godon (Ineos Grenadiers) sprinted to victory, while Valentin Paret-Peintre was the first of our riders to roll over the line.
After three consecutive days for the fast men, there will be a change of scenery at the Volta a Catalunya. Initially, the stage was supposed to finish atop Vallter (11.4km, 7.6%), but the weather forecast for Thursday - wind gusts of 90km/h - forced the organisers to alter the route. The last climb will be shorter now and conclude in the town of Campodron.
Photo credit: ©Szymon Gruchalski / Getty Images
