Vuelta a Espana Stage 3 Results

Peter Sagan Wins a Grand Tour Stage

Peter Sagan, Tinkoff-Saxo, won Stage 3 of the Vuelta a Espana ending two years of frustration in Grand Tours. Esteban Chaves of Orica GreenEdge leads the race, wearing the Red Jersey. The other top contenders are still within one minute of the lead.
Stage 3 was a 164.6 km (102.3 mile) stage from  with two Category 3 climbs in the first half of the stage with a flat run into Malaga. 
Sagan had not won a stage in a Grand Tour since 1993. This victory will be a boost for the team, with Alberto Contador not defending his Vuelta title this year and for Sagan, who did not win a stage in the Tour de France this year.
Sagan followed John Degenkolb and his Team Giant-Alpecin lead out train in the final kilometers of the stage. Sagan came around Degenkolb’s rear wheel and sprinted to the finish, with Nacer Bouhanni coming up to edge Degenkolb as well at the finish to come in second in the stage today.

Vuelta Withdrawals

As a result of Sunday’s crash at 30 km (19 miles) from the finish, Marcus Burghardt (BMC Racing Team) did not start today. Paolo Tiralongo (Astana Pro Team) abandoned partway through the stage due to injuries from Sunday. Tiralongo had 20 stitches on his face and had injuries to his shoulders, hip and legs. Tiralongo is a key supporter of teammate Fabio Aru and a training partner. Fabio Cancellara (Trek Factory Team) withdrew as well due to stomach flu. Cancellara could not eat and with the hills and heat he could not continue.
The 209 km (130 mile) Stage 4 run from Estepona to Vejer de la Frontera and looks to be another sprinters’ stage, where, Degenkolb and Sagan will likely duel again.


Stage 3 Results

1
Peter Sagan
Tinkoff-Saxo
4:06:46
2
Nacer Bouhanni
Cofidis, Solutions Credits
:00
3
John Degenkolb
Team Giant-Alpecin
:00
4
Jean-Pierre Drucker
BMC Racing Team
:00
5
Nelson Oliveira
Lampre-Merida
:00
6
Youcef Reguigui
MTN - Qhubeka
:00
7
Mitchell Docker
Orica GreenEdge
:00
8
Jasper Stuyven
Trek Factory Racing
:00
9
Vicente Reynes
IAM Cycling
:00
10
Tom Van Asbroeck
Team LottoNL-Jumbo
:00


General Classification Standings

1
Esteban Chaves
Orica GreenEdge
8:04:01
2
Tom Dumoulin
Team Giant-Alpecin
0:00:05
3
Nicolas Roche
Team Sky
0:00:15
4
Daniel Martin
Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
0:00:24
5
Joaquim Rodriguez
Team Katusha
0:00:35
6
Nairo Quintana
Movistar Team
0:00:36
7
Alejandro Valverde
Movistar Team
0:00:38
8
Christopher Froome
Team Sky
0:00:40
9
Daniel Moreno Fernandez
Team Katusha
0:00:40
10
Fabio Aru
Astana Pro Team
0:00:47
11
Mikel Landa
Astana Pro Team
0:00:51
12
Romain Sicard
Team Europcar
0:00:51
13
Mikel Nieve
Team Sky
0:00:51
14
Songezo Jim
MTN - Qhubeka
0:00:52
15
Tejay Van Garderen
BMC Racing Team
0:00:55

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