Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors) sprinted to victory in stage three of the Vuelta a Espana, holding off compatriot Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo), as Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) retained the red jersey.
Viviani recorded victory in what was the 1,500th stage in the race’s history, after being launched by team mate Michael Morkov in a chaotic finale at frantic pace.
Bora-Hansgrohe’s Peter Sagan took third behind Trek-Segafredo’s Nizzolo with Nacer Bouhanni in fourth.
“It was beautiful, I have no words, again, for the team,” said Viviani. “We did not know if we would win or not because with 3,000 meters of elevation gain it is not an easy sprint, but the Vuelta’s always like that. I’m really happy, this wonderful season continues.”
Viviani has won 15 stages this season after leaving Team Sky for Quick-Step, including four at the Giro d’Italia.
Kwiatkowski kept the red jersey after taking it from Rohan Dennis on Sunday, while Alejandro Valverde trails him by 14 seconds.
Tuesday’s stage four sees riders travel 162 kilometers from Velez, Malaga to Alfacar’s Sierra de la Alfaguara, another summit finish.
Vuelta a Espana 2018 – stage 3 results (Mijas – Alhaurín de la Torre):
| 1 | Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors) | 4:48:12 |
| 2 | Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo) | ,, |
| 3 | Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) | ,, |
| 4 | Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) | ,, |
| 5 | Simone Consonni (UAE Team Emirates) | ,, |
| 6 | Danny van Poppel (LottoNL-Jumbo) | ,, |
| 7 | Michael Mørkøv (Quick-Step Floors) | ,, |
| 8 | Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott) | ,, |
| 9 | Ryan Gibbons (Dimension Data) | ,, |
| 10 | Tom Van Asbroeck (EF Education First-Drapac) | ,, |
| 11 | Simon Clarke (EF Education First-Drapac) | ,, |
| 12 | Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) | ,, |
| 13 | Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) | ,, |
| 14 | Ivan Garcia (Bahrain-Merida) | ,, |
| 15 | Marc Sarreau (Groupama-FDJ) | ,, |
| 16 | Eduard Prades (Euskadi Basque Country-Murias) | ,, |
| 17 | Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb) | ,, |
| 18 | Luka Mezgec (Mitchelton-Scott) | ,, |
| 19 | Jon Aberasturi (Euskadi Basque Country-Murias) | ,, |
| 20 | Gianluca Brambilla (Trek-Segafredo) | ,, |
General classification after stage 3:
| 1 | Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) | 9:10:52 |
| 2 | Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) | +14” |
| 3 | Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb) | +25” |
| 4 | Laurens De Plus (Quick-Step Floors) | +28” |
| 5 | Ion Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida) | +30” |
| 6 | Fabio Felline (Trek-Segafredo) | ,, |
| 7 | Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-hansgrohe) | +32” |
| 8 | Tony Gallopin (AG2R La Mondiale) | +33” |
| 9 | Nairo Quintana (Movistar) | ,, |
| 10 | Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) | +35” |
| 11 | Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL-Jumbo) | +37” |
| 12 | Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) | ,, |
| 13 | Enric Mas (Quick-Step Floors) | +42” |
| 14 | Rafal Majka (Bora-hansgrohe) | ,, |
| 15 | Dries Devenyns (Quick-Step Floors) | +43” |
| 16 | Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) | ,, |
| 17 | George Bennett (LottoNL-Jumbo) | +45” |
| 18 | Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) | +47” |
| 19 | Rigoberto Uran (EF Education First-Drapac) | +48” |
| 20 | Rudy Molard (Groupama-FDJ) | ,, |
