Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2020 – Stage 3 [LAST 25 KM]

February 7, 2020

Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2020 – Stage 3 – Orihuela – Torrevieja : 174,6 km

The 70th edition of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana (English: Tour of the Valencian Community) was held from 6 to 10 February 2019. It was run over five stages, of which one was an time trial, covering a total distance of 647 km. It was a 2.1 event on the 2019 UCI Europe Tour. The race was run entirely in the autonomous community of Valencia, starting in Orihuela and finishing in Valencia.

Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) came back from a late crash to claim his second victory of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, winning stage 3 on a bike that was still damaged as Jack Haig (Mitchelton-Scott) took the overall lead from Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates).

The Dutch sprinter, who won on the opening day, hit the deck with around 30km to go and was forced into chasing back on with his teammates to take part in the bunch gallop.

Despite not being happy with his bike, he produced a powerful sprint on what was a messy finish to once again get the better of Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep), with Matej Mohorič (Bahrain McLaren) claiming the final podium spot.

On a scrappy run towards the finish, Deceuninck-QuickStep took to the front of the peloton but it was far from a controlled lead-out. Whereas the opening day had seen Jakobsen overhauled by Groenewegen at the very last, this time Jakobsen took the wheel of his compatriot and looked to come around late on. He nearly did, but Groenewegen, who had jumped from the wheel of Matteo Trentin (CCC Team) to that of Mohorič, held on.

“It was an easy day but in the finale I crashed at around 30km from the finish. The team was waiting for me and I was in a good position to sprint. I had some mechanical problems but it was ok.” Groenewegen said.

“In the final there was some corners but we stayed in a good position and we stayed together really well. I was really good in the sprint, in a good position. I had some problems with my bike after the crash but it was OK. It feels really good.”

Despite the bunch finish, and despite Pogačar being present and correct, the stage saw the leader’s jersey change hands. With no bonus seconds in this edition of the race, stage placings are used to order riders who are tied on time, as Pogaćar, Haig, and seven others were after stage 2.

Haig placed 12th on the stage, the best of the overall contenders and five places above Pogačar in 17th, and so moved above the Slovenian to the top of the standings. Despite finishing one place behind Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), Pogačar held onto second place by virtue of beating him by two places on the opening stage and one place on stage 2.

The movements, however, will be rendered largely irrelevant as the general classification is set to take its own definitive shape on Saturday’s stage 4, which finishes at the top of the five-kilometre climb to Altea. Nevertheless, there are now just seven riders tied for time after Dan Martin (Israel Start-up Nation) lost two seconds and Gianni Moscon (Team Ineos) lost more.

How it unfolded

After the punchy uphill finish on stage 2, it was back to the sprinters on stage 3, with a 176km route from Orihuela to Torrevieja. There was a heft second-category climb at Hondon de los Frailes but, topping out 70km from the line, it was never likely to inflict any lasting damage.

Six riders formed the early breakaway: Héctor Sáez (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Manuel Peñalver (Burgos-BH), Julen Irizar (Fundación-Orbea), Petr Rikunov (Gazprom-RusVelo), Daniel Viegas (Kometa Xstra Cycling Team, and Iván Moreno (Equipo Kern Pharma).

They built a lead of three minutes after 50km but that was as good as it got, with the peloton unwilling to give them much rope. Rikunov was the first to the top of the climb, followed by Penalver and Irizar, and those three pressed on and went clear for several kilometres. Meanwhile, in the peloton, the bunch stretched out but none of the sprinters were placed in any real difficulty.

The break reformed but split up again after the descent, with Irizar going clear again, this time with Saez and Moreno. They were steadily reeled in by the peloton and, after being allowed to dangle out front for a while, were swiftly snuffed out with 10km to go.

CCC Team, Mitchelton-Scott, and Astana were all prominent on the run-in, along with Jumbo-Visma and Deceuninck-QuickStep, but there was a small spanner thrown into the works. With 3km to go, Michal Kiwatkowski (Team Ineos) took a flyer and was joined by Julien Duval (AG2R La Mondiale).

QuickStep were on the front but Mitchelton-Scott soon took over to eliminate the threat, and they went on to tee up Luka Mezgec for an early sprint. Mohoric also went early on the left but it was Groenewegen who was still feeling strong enough to take his second victory of the week.

Results :
1 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 3:54:16
2 Fabio Jakobsen (Ned) Deceuninck-Quickstep
3 Matej Mohoric (Slo) Bahrain McLaren
4 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Israel Start-Up Nation
5 Jon Aberasturi Izaga (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
6 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Mitchelton-Scott
7 Amaury Capiot (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
8 Matteo Trentin (Ita) CCC Team
9 Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Israel Start-Up Nation
10 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
11 Jaume Sureda Morey (Spa) Burgos-BH
12 Jack Haig (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
13 Romain Cardis (Fra) Total Direct Energie
14 Ivan Garcia Cortina (Spa) Bahrain McLaren
15 Juan Jose Lobato del Valle (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea
16 John Degenkolb (Ger) Lotto Soudal
17 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team
18 Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
19 Enrique Sanz Unzue (Spa) Kern Pharma
20 Vincenzo Albanese (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
21 José Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team
22 Julien Simon (Fra) Total Direct Energie
23 Evgeny Shalunov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
24 Ruben Fernandez (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea
25 Ion Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Astana Pro Team
26 Cristian Scaroni (Ita) Gazprom-Rusvelo
27 Simone Velasco (Ita) Gazprom-Rusvelo
28 Wouter Poels (Ned) Bahrain McLaren
29 Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain McLaren
30 Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team
31 Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
32 Cedric Beullens (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
33 Ivan Rovny (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
34 David De la Cruz Melgarejo (Spa) UAE Team Emirates
35 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Ineos
36 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) CCC Team
37 Davide Ballerini (Ita) Deceuninck-Quickstep
38 Pello Bilbao (Spa) Bahrain McLaren 0:00:05
39 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Ineos 0:00:07
40 Kevin Deltombe (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
41 Márton Dina (Hun) Kometa Xstra
42 Robert Stannard (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
43 Davide Villella (Ita) Movistar Team
44 Dorian Godon (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale
45 Luis León Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team
46 Giovanni Carboni (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
47 Hugo Houle (Can) Astana Pro Team
48 Oscar Rodriguez Garaicoechea (Spa) Astana Pro Team
49 Urko Berrade Fernandez (Spa) Kern Pharma
50 Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Ineos
51 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Ineos
52 Daniel Martin (Irl) Israel Start-Up Nation
53 Jon Agirre Egaña (Spa) Kern Pharma
54 Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Lotto Soudal
55 James Knox (GBr) Deceuninck-Quickstep
56 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Movistar Team
57 Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Team Jumbo-Visma
58 Rein Taaramäe (Est) Total Direct Energie
59 Michael Schär (Swi) CCC Team
60 Victor De la Parte (Spa) CCC Team
61 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Deceuninck-Quickstep
62 Serge Pauwels (Bel) CCC Team
63 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Israel Start-Up Nation
64 Guy Niv (Isr) Israel Start-Up Nation
65 Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Mitchelton-Scott
66 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale
67 Edward Ravasi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
68 Diego Pablo Sevilla Lopez (Spa) Kometa Xstra
69 Mathias Frank (Swi) AG2R la Mondiale
70 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Lotto Soudal
71 Matthias Brändle (Aut) Israel Start-Up Nation
72 Aaron Verwilst (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
73 Antonio Jesus Soto Guirao (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea
74 Julien Duval (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale
75 Dmitrii Strakhov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
76 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Israel Start-Up Nation
77 Txomin Juaristi Arrieta (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea
78 Gonzalo Serrano Rodriguez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
79 Luca Covili (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
80 Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Deceuninck-Quickstep
81 Lawrence Naesen (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale
82 Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) UAE Team Emirates
83 Ben Swift (GBr) Team Ineos
84 Sander Armee (Bel) Lotto Soudal
85 Tsgabu Gebremaryam Grmay (Eth) Mitchelton-Scott
86 Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea
87 Joan Bou Company (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea
88 Oscar Cabedo Carda (Spa) Burgos-BH
89 Isaac Canton Serrano (Spa) Burgos-BH
90 Filippo Zana (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
91 Francesco Romano (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
92 Antonio Puppio (Ita) Kometa Xstra
93 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale
94 Florian Maitre (Fra) Total Direct Energie
95 Jefferson Cepeda (Ecu) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
96 Rodrigo Contreras Pinzon (Col) Astana Pro Team
97 Jonas Gregaard Wilsly (Den) Astana Pro Team
98 Frederik Frison (Bel) Lotto Soudal
99 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma
100 Umberto Orsini (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’ 0:00:23
101 Daniel Viegas (Por) Kometa Xstra
102 Jeremy Cabot (Fra) Total Direct Energie
103 Fabien Grellier (Fra) Total Direct Energie
104 Nathan Van Hooydonck (Bel) CCC Team
105 Thomas Sprengers (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
106 Simon Sellier (Fra) Total Direct Energie
107 Jos Van Emden (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:00:26
108 Remy Mertz (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:29
109 Brent Van Moer (Bel) Lotto Soudal
110 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Ineos
111 Cristian Rodriguez Martin (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:00:31
112 Kenny De Ketele (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:00:39
113 Willem Jakobus Smit (RSA) Burgos-BH
114 Alejandro Osorio Carvajal (Col) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:00:48
115 Nikita Stalnov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
116 Jaime Castrillo Zapater (Spa) Kern Pharma
117 Jose Felix Parra Cuerda (Spa) Kern Pharma
118 Pascal Eenkhoorn (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
119 Jorge Arcas (Spa) Movistar Team
120 Michael Albasini (Swi) Mitchelton-Scott 0:00:52
121 Tim Declercq (Bel) Deceuninck-Quickstep 0:01:01
122 Paul Martens (Ger) Team Jumbo-Visma
123 Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:01:03
124 Callum Scotson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
125 Stijn Steels (Bel) Deceuninck-Quickstep
126 Petr Rikunov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:01:09
127 Ivan Moreno Sanchez (Spa) Kern Pharma
128 Alvaro Cuadros Morata (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:01:42
129 Sergio Samitier Samitier (Spa) Movistar Team
130 Sergio Nestor Araiz Michel (Spa) Kern Pharma 0:02:00
131 Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) CCC Team 0:02:40
132 Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Spa) Team Ineos 0:02:41
133 Scott Davies (GBr) Bahrain McLaren 0:03:42
134 Kevin Inkelaar (Ned) Bahrain McLaren
135 Diego Rubio Hernandez (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:04:31
136 Hector Saez Benito (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
137 Julen Irizar Laskurain (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea
138 Emiel Planckaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:04:48
139 Giacomo Garavaglia (Ita) Kometa Xstra
140 Manuel Peñalver Aniorte (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:05:55
141 Jorge Cubero Galvez (Spa) Burgos-BH

General Classification after Stage 3 :
1 Jack Haig (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 13:16:25
2 Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
3 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team
4 Ruben Fernandez (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea
5 Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain McLaren
6 Ion Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Astana Pro Team
7 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Ineos
8 Matej Mohoric (Slo) Bahrain McLaren 0:00:02
9 Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:05
10 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) CCC Team