Jonas Vingegaard won stage three of the Tour of the Basque Country on Wednesday on a route culminating with four short, steep climbs.
Vingegaard soared to the top of the standings of the six-day tour after overnight leader Ide Schelling was dropped 9km from home after struggling to keep up on the first of the four “walls”.
Vingegaard beat Mikel Landa and Enric Mas by around two seconds at the finish line.
“Every climb was hard today, and I have to thank my teammates a lot today, they worked their arses off and I’m very happy to take the win,” said Vingegaard.
A late tangle with a roadside barrier took out Richard Carapaz and Sergio Higuita, who had been involved in the intense struggle for the stage win.
Thursday’s stage from Santurtzi and back should also prove pivotal to the overall standings with a late category two climb and a downhill dash to the finish.
Jonas Vingegaard ground his way up an incredibly steep climb to take victory on Stage 3 of Itzulia Basque Country ? pic.twitter.com/M9GOuBOEKe
— Eurosport (@eurosport) April 5, 2023
