Movistar's Alejandro Valverde climbed to victory in the third stage of the Volta a Catalunya Wednesday, besting Quick-Step Floors' Dan Martin in the closing metres of La Molina.
The Spaniard brought no shortage of motivation into the mountaintop finale after UCI commissaires penalised his entire Movistar team by one minute for the José Joaquín Rojas pushing incident during the stage 2 team time trial. The penalty denied Movistar the stage victory and also wiped out the advantage Valverde had gained over many of his top rivals with the team's performance against the clock, but Valverde clawed back some time at the La Molina summit.
Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing), who finished three seconds behind Valverde and Martin with several other GC contenders, sits atop the GC after stage 3.
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Despite the mountainous nature of the parcours – with three first-category ascents on the day's menu – most of the big guns kept their powder dry until the final moments of Wednesday's stage. Neither the Alt de Toses, the first official climb of the stage, nor the first of two trips up La Molina saw much action from the favourites, with Team Sky setting the pace in pursuit of the morning breakaway.
The early escapees were all reeled in with around eight kilometres left to race, leaving it to the reduced peloton to contest the win. None of the few attempted attacks from the group lasted long as Sky, Trek-Segafredo and Orica-Scott traded responsibility at the front, until Martin finally jumped away inside the final kilometre.
Valverde was quick to respond, jumping onto the Irishman's wheel and pulling even as they rounded the final corner before coming past in sight of the finish line. Most of the other top favuorites followed close behind, with Orica-Scott's Adam Yates leading a group that included van Garderen, Sky's Geraint Thomas and Trek's Alberto Contador to the finish three seconds later and Sky's Chris Froome crossing the line a further five seconds down.
How it unfolded
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) March 22, 2017
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