Maximilian Schachmann extended his overall lead in the Tour of the Basque Country on Wednesday by powering up a final climb to win the third stage in Estibaliz.
The Bora-hansgrohe rider took advantage of a dramatic crash that wiped out several frontrunners with six kilometres to go, stretching his advantage to 33 seconds over Ion Izagirre (Astana) and teammate Patrik Konrad in third.
“I knew I wasn’t coming here as a big star of the team but I get 150 per cent support,” Schachmann said. “I trust them and in the end I had the legs. To win in the yellow jersey really is incredible.
“I’ve surprised myself but now we have two very hard stages. I hope my batteries are still full enough.”
The crash knocked over Julian Alaphilippe, who had been placed second overall after winning stage two on Tuesday. Alaphilippe was still able to finish, albeit 12 minutes late.
Schachmann was fortunate to avoid the collision and pulled clear of Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates) and Enrico Battaglin (Katusha-Alpecin) around the final bend to seal a clear victory.
?? Maximilian Schachmann ???
Se lleva el triunfo en la 3ª etapa de la #Itzulia y es más líder.
Sigue la @ehitzulia en @Eurosport_ES y https://t.co/fLW7LTy0zL pic.twitter.com/fi7Lmn1F1S
— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) April 10, 2019
Tour of the Basque Country 2019 – stage 3 results (Sarriguren – Estibaliz):
| 1 | Maximilian Schachmann (Bora-hansgrohe) | 4:47:47 |
| 2 | Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates) | ,, |
| 3 | Enrico Battaglin (Katusha-Alpecin) | ,, |
| 4 | Marc Hirschi (Team Sunweb) | ,, |
| 5 | Ion Izagirre (Astana) | ,, |
| 6 | Jon Aberasturi (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) | ,, |
| 7 | Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) | ,, |
| 8 | Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) | ,, |
| 9 | Carlos Quintero (Manzana Postobon) | ,, |
| 10 | Grega Bole (Bahrain-Merida) | ,, |
Tour of the Basque Country 2019 – general classification after stage 3:
| 1 | Maximilian Schachmann (Bora-hansgrohe) | 8:34:31 |
| 2 | Ion Izagirre (Astana) | +33” |
| 3 | Patrick Konrad (Bora-hansgrohe) | ,, |
| 4 | Daniel Martinez (EF Education First) | +48” |
| 5 | Daniel Martin (UAE Team Emirates) | +49” |
| 6 | Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-hansgrohe) | +51” |
| 7 | Pello Bilbao (Spa) Astana | +54” |
| 8 | Dylan Teuns (Bahrain-Merida) | +01’11” |
| 9 | Mikel Landa (Movistar) | +01’16” |
| 10 | Sam Oomen (Team Sunweb) | ,, |
