Coming off of a win yesterday, Julian Alaphilippe had a rough day today at the 2019 Vuelta a Pais Vasco. The Frenchman from Deceuninck-Quick Step was caught in a group crash 6 kilometers from the finish on Wednesday at the 3rd stage and crossed the line 12 minutes late. Maximilian Schachmann (BORA-Hansgrohe) won the stage at Estibaliz and consolidated his leader’s jersey.
The crash began at the head of the peloton and took down many of the contenders , but the main victim was Julian Alaphilippe. It remains to be seen whether his injuries will allow him to take his place for the rest of the Tour of the Basque Country. A negative medical check-up could also be bad news for the rest of the classics season.
After being attended by the team’s medical staff, Alaphilippe climbed back on his bike and concluded the stage before heading to the hotel, where he was assessed by the doctor.
“It doesn’t look to be anything serious, but I have some abrasions and pain, so the team will continue to monitor me overnight,” Alaphilippe said. “I really don’t know what happened, just that it was a touch of wheels in front of me and in the next moment I was on the ground. It’s the first time in my career that I crash at high speed, but at the end of the day I am happy I could finish the stage. The only thing that we can do now is see how things go and how I feel in the morning.”
With Michal Kwiatkowski, Geraint Thomas and Enric Mas also caught up in the crash Schachmann confirmed his excellent start to the season. The German scored his second win of the week and widened the lead in the overall standings.
Schachmann Thanks Team:
“I want to thank the whole team. The guys supported me, like always, very well, and this was clear to see yet again today. In the finale, the were a crash and I hope that all the riders involved are ok. In the finish, I had Gregor and Jay there with me, and they brought me into a good position. I had good legs and that allowed me to notch up the win and defend my leader’s jersey. Yesterday we had a meeting and we discussed what I could do better, and today I implemented that, and it worked. I feel good and am happy to be able to reward the hard work of my team with this win. We still have three hard stages ahead of us, and I hope that I will still have something left in the tank after today.”
Diego Ulissi just missed out on the win in the third stage to Estibaliz.
Nearing the end of the 191.4 km stage, the Emirates team moved compactly towards the head of the group to support Ulissi for the short climb of 1.4 km, at an average 4.2%. The group launched 350 meters from the finish and Ulissi took the lead at 150 meters, but then had to surrender to the charge Schachmann.
Diego Ulissi: “The final was complicated, but working together with the team we managed to get ourselves in a good position.
I am satisfied with my sprint, it was excellent, but Schachmann was just better. I am pleased to have found a nice kick, it is a good sign for the next stages and, looking further ahead, for the Ardennes Classics“.
Stage 3 Brief Results:
- Maximilian Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) at 4h47’47”
- Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates) s.t
- Enrico Battaglin (Katusha-Alpecin) s.t.
- Marc Hirschi (Team Sunweb) s.t.
- Ion Izagirre (Astana Pro Team) s.t.
General Classification After Stage 3:
- Maximilian Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) at 8h34’31”
- Ion Izagirre (Astana Pro Team) at 33″
- Patrick Konrad (Bora-Hansgrohe) s.t.
- Daniel Martin (UAE Team Emirates) at 49″
- Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) at 51″
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