The leader’s jersey at the Ruta del Sol has been on two different riders in the opening two days of the Ruta del Sol. It could well change hands again on stage 3 as the general classification, and the rest of the peloton, tackle the 11.9-kilometre time trial in Lucena.
The course is relatively flat but there are some technical parts, which could see riders shelling important seconds in the general classification contest.
Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) will be in the red skinsuit and will have the benefit of setting off last. There’ll be two minutes between him and second place Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) on the road but, in reality, the Frenchman is rather closer than he might have liked. Pinot is just three seconds behind Contador in the overall standings and only some 12 seconds cover the top six. Most importantly, Ion Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida) is only five seconds behind and with a good showing the Basque rider could see himself go into the race lead.
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Izagirre can turn out a strong time trial but none of the other main general classification could be considered a threat for the stage win. Former time trial world champion Vasil Kiryienka has been keeping his powder dry so far and a win here would be a morale boost after some lacklustre time trial performances in 2016.
Mathias Brändle, who has been working for team leader Contador for much of the opening two stages, looks to be in good form and is another likely contender, as is CCC Sprandi’s Marcin Bialoblocki. The pair goes off relatively early in proceedings with Brandle fourth rider off at 14:03 local time, with Bialoblocki three minutes later.
Kirill Sveshnikov, who was in the break on day one, is at the bottom of the overall standings and will kick off the time trial when he rolls down the start ramp at 1pm.
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