Italian National Champion Elia Viviani of the Quick Step Floors team took the sprint win on Stage 3 of the 2018 Vuelta a Espana.
The stage was dominated by a breakaway group consisting of Nans Peters (AG2R-La Mondiale), Pierre Rolland (Education First-Drapac), Jordi Simon (Burgos-BH), Antonio Molina (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Luis Angel Mate (Cofidis) and Hector Saez (Euskadi-Murias) were the break of the day. Rolland was the first to drop out of the lead group with 53km remaining.
Simon later attacked the break for a solo run with 40km remaining, but it was not to be as he was joined by Victor Campenaerts (LTS), Antonio Molina (CJR), Lukas Pöstlberger (BOH), Nans Peters (ALM), Jelle Wallays (LTS), Alexis Gougeard (ALM), Héctor Sáez (EUS) and Luis Ángel Maté (COF). They were holding a lead of 45 seconds with 37km to go.
Simon tried another attack, but he was soon joined, and passed, by Lukas Pöstlberger, who for a moment was the leader on the road.
Pöstlberger held the lead for about 15km before giving it up for the sprint teams. With 5km to go, the peloton was all back together. Cofidis, BORA and Quick Step all made their moves for the front to position their sprinters, and in the end it was Viviani that took the sprint.
2018 Vuelta a Espana Stage 3 Results:
- Elia Viviani (QST) at 4h48’12”
- Giacomo Nizzolo (TFS)
- Peter Sagan (BOH)
- Nacer Bouhani (COF)
- Simone Consanni (UAD)
- Danny Van Poppel (TLJ)
- Mikael Morkov (QST)
- Matteo Trentin (MTS)
- Ryan Gibbons (DDD)
- Tom Van Asbroeck (EFD)
General Classification After Stage 3:
- Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) at 9h 10′ 52”
- Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) at 14″
- Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb) at 25″
- Laurens de Plus (Quick Step Floors) at 28″
- Jon Izaguirre (Bahrain Merida) at 30″
- Fabio Felline (TFS) s.t.
- Emanuel Buchmann (BOH) at 32″
- Tony Gallopin (ALM) at 33″
- Nairo Quintana (MOV) s.t.
- Bauke Mollema (TFS) at 35″
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