Nibali claims Vuelta stage three as Froome takes overall lead

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Vincenzo Nibali wins stage 3 vuelta

Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain Merida) claimed the third stage of the Vuelta a Espana after an exciting finale. The Italian rider was the fastest in the final sprint against the other eight GC favourites.

Chris Froome finished third to take bonus time, adding to three seconds gained from the earlier intermediate, and the GC lead.

The Team Sky leader was first across the line on the last intermediate sprint before the final climb which yielded three bonus seconds that would prove pivotal as he now leads the race by two seconds.

After Diego Rosa and Gianni Moscon combined at the base of the final climb to split the leading group and create gaps, with 7.7km to go, Froome accelerated with only Esteban Chaves (Orica-Scott) able to match his pace until chasing duo Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale) and Fabio Aru (Astana) caught them on the descent.

In the closing kilometre a larger group containing Nibali, David De La Cruz (Quick-Step Floors), Tejay Van Garderen and Nicolas Roche (both BMC Racing) bridged the gap too which setup a sprint finish.

Nibali emerged from the elite bunch to take the stage win, with De La Cruz second and Froome third, sealing four bonus seconds and the race lead.

Vuelta a Espana 2017 – stage 3 results (Prades Conflent Canigo – Andorra la Vella):

1Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain Merida)

4:01:22

2David De La Cruz (Quick-Step Floors)

,,

3Chris Froome (Team Sky)

,,

4Romain Bardet (AG2R)

,,

5Esteban Chaves (Orica-Scott)

,,

6Fabio Aru (Astana)

,,

7Nicolas Roche (BMC)

,,

8Tejay Van Garderen (BMC)

,,

9Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R)

,,

10Michael Woods (Cannondale-Drapac)

+25”

11Adam Yates (Orica-Scott)

,,

12Mikel Nieve (Team Sky)

,,

13Simon Yates (Orica-Scott)

+29”

14Daniel Moreno (Movistar)

+54”

15Louis Meintjes (UAE Team Emirates)

,,

16Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin)

,,

17Igor Anton (Dimension Data)

,,

18Warren Barguil (Team Sunweb)

+01’14”

19Rui Costa (UAE Team Emirates)

,,

20Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana)

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General classification after stage 3:

1Chris Froome (Team Sky)

8:53:44

2David De La Cruz (Quick-Step Floors)

+02”

3Nicolas Roche (BMC)

,,

4Tejay Van Garderen (BMC)

,,

5Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain Merida)

+10”

6Esteban Chaves (Orica-Scott)

+11”

7Fabio Aru (Astana)

+38”

8Adam Yates (Orica-Scott)

+39”

9Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R)

+43”

10Romain Bardet (AG2R)

+48”

11Simon Yates (Orica-Scott)

,,

12Michael Woods (Cannondale-Drapac)

+01’13”

13Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb)

+01’17”

14Daniel Moreno (Movistar)

+01’20”

15Warren Barguil (Team Sunweb)

+01’22”

16Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin)

+01’29”

17Sam Oomen (Team Sunweb)

+01’32”

18Carlos Betancur (Movistar)

+01’35”

19Igor Anton (Dimension Data)

,,

20Louis Meintjes (UAE Team Emirates)

+01’43”

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