Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) won stage 3 of the Vuelta a Espana into Andorra la Vella, jumping clear of a group of favourites inside the final kilometre. David de la Cruz (Quick-Step Floors) chased down Nibali but had to settle for second with Chris Froome (Team Sky) in third.
As the race really took flight on the final climb, Nibali looked in trouble on more than one occasion. The Bahrain-Merida rider lost touch almost as soon as the riders hit the foot of the ascent when Team Sky put the hammer down. He recovered enough to fight back to the group, but when Froome lit things up again, taking Esteban Chaves (Orica-Scott) with him, with eight kilometres to go it looked like Nibali's chances were over as he slipped back once again. He had to rely on his descending skills to close the gap to Froome and Chaves, eventually catching them and others inside the final kilometre.
Nicolas Roche was the first rider to make a charge for the line, but Nibali had no trouble catching and passing him with 400 metres to go. Nibali glanced over his shoulder as he approached the finish, but there was nothing to worry about as he stormed to the win. It will be a big boost for Nibali, but his performance on the climbs will be of some concern to the Italian.
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Froome and Team Sky set their stall out in the finale of the stage, showing that Froome was going to take an aggressive approach to the race. Knowing from the Tour de France how close things could be, Diego Rosa set up Froome for the intermediate sprint. He took two seconds for his efforts which, along with the three seconds he took for third place, put him into the overall race lead. He holds a two-second advantage over De la Cruz, and BMC pairing Roche and Tejay van Garderen.
The biggest loser of the day was Alberto Contador, who lost contact after the initial surge from Team Sky and never regained contact with the favourites. By the time he reached the line he had given away 2:33 to his main rivals, his overall ambitions over.
How it unfolded
Starting the Vuelta a Espana in Nimes was always going to mean an early trip to the Pyrenees for the peloton. Stage 3 would pit the riders against their first major mountain test with a tough ride into Andorra La Vella. Following a lengthy neutral section, the break was quick to form with Caja Rural's Fabricio Ferrari igniting the move. Thomas de Gendt (Lotto-Soudal), David Villella (Cannondale-Drapac) and Anthony Turgis (Cofidis) followed him across the gap, and were later joined by Axel Domont, Alexandre Geniez (AG2R La Mondiale) and Fernando Orjuela (Manzana Postobon) after a short chase.
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