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Vuelta stage 3 report: Van Aert wins in red

Vuelta stage 3 report: Van Aert wins in red

Wout van Aert gets his first career Vuelta a España stage victory while leading the race.

A day after coming up just short in a sprint and "settling" for the red jersey, Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) powered to victory on stage 3 of the Vuelta a España. The 29-year-old Belgian bested stage 2 winner Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Jon Aberasturi (Euskaltel-Euskadi) in another sprint in Castelo Branco on the Vuelta's final day in Portugal.

Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-Dstny) attempted to steal a march on the sprinters inside the last 2 km but Groves's Alpecin team chased him down, and then Van Aert outmatched the Australian in the final few hundred meters. Accounting for bonus seconds, he now has a 13-second GC lead over Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates), although a mountain stage awaits on Tuesday.

[race_result id=23 stage_id=79162 count=10 gc=0 year=2024] [race_result id=23 stage_id=79162 count=10 gc=10 year=2024]

How it happened

Wout van Aert wins a close sprint in Castelo Branco.
Wout van Aert won a close sprint in Castelo Branco.
I think I surprised him by going before even 200 meters.

—Wout van Aert on his win over Kaden Groves

Brief analysis

Up next

Who’s ready for some GC action? The first two climbs of stage 4 will put some early fatigue into the legs – and could spring a strong breakaway – and then the ascent to the finish line will be a serious test at this point in the race. With an average gradient of 6.2%, the Pico Vullercas climb may not seem all that hard, but two thirds of the way in, the road ramps up into the double digits for an extended stretch. Whether from the break or the bunch, the stage win will go to a very strong climber.

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