Sam Bennett wins first final sprint of the Vuelta a España
Aug 26 2019 11:32 pm CET
Photo of Sam Bennett (c)BORA-hansgrohe / VeloImages
Bora-hansgrohe's Sam Bennett has taken the victory of the third stage at the Vuelta a España. The Irish national champion outsprinted Edward Theuns and Luka Mezgec in the first opportunity for the fast men of the grand tour.
The second stage of the Spanish race was 188 kilometres long between Ibi and Alicante over a route that was bound to finish in a bunch sprint. The escape of the day was formed by three Spaniards: Angel Madrazo, Hector Saez and Diego Rubio.
The escapees were caught with 39 kilometres to go and after the peloton had to change the speed to neutralise attacks by riders like Thomas De Gendt, Marc Soler, Damien Howson, Sepp Kuss and Nielson Powless. This change of pace at the second climb left Fernando Gaviria (UAE-Team Emirates) struggling behind until he was more than two minutes behind the peloton.
The pack arrived compact to the final kilometre and Trek-Segafredo's John Degenkolb served as the lead out man for Edward Theuns but as soon as he launched his final sprint, Bora-hansgrohe's Sam Bennett also launched his and was so strong that the rest of the competitors couldn't match it. Theuns and Luka Mezgec (Mitchelon-Scott) completed the top five of the day.
Nicolas Roche (Sunweb) crossed the finish line with the pack and maintains his lead in the General Classification.
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