Thomas wins Tour of the Alps queen stage to seize race lead

The Tour of the Alps queen stage lived up to the pre-race hype with a dramatic one-two punch from Team Sky to claim first and second in Funes, Italy on Wednesday.

Geraint Thomas and teammate Mikel Landa double-teamed 2012 winner Domenico Pozzovivo when the 30-year-old Briton joined Pozzovivo and last year’s winner Landa inside the final kilometre of the brutal 10km climb to the stage 3 finish.

Flanked by Landa the win and bonus seconds were enough to ensure Thomas moved into a 16-second race lead with two days to go.

“I felt good on the climb and I said to Landa – ‘just go and make the others chase’. I could just follow everyone else and it worked perfectly. After Scarponi went and Formolo [attacked] it became quite hard so I thought I’d have a go. I went full gas”, said Geraint Thomas.

“It’s one thing in a week-long race, it’s another thing completely at a Grand Tour. It’s completely unknown for me. The likes of Nibali, Quintana, Pinot and other guys have all been on the podium in Grand Tours. We’ll see how it goes but for me it’s a good way to start.

“It shows all the work I’ve been doing and the dedication is finally paying off. I’m looking forward to a bit of a rest after this race and going to the Giro fresh mentally and physically. And trying to get what I can!”

Tour of the Alps 2017 – stage 3 results (Villabassa- Funes/Villnöß):

General classification after stage 3: