Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal) took a solo victory in stage 3 at the Volta a Catalunya, a huge performance that earned him the overall race lead and mountains jersey. Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) led the chase group in for second place ahead of Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) in third.
De Gendt now leads the overall classification by 23 seconds ahead of overnight leader Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), and Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) is third at 29 seconds back.
"When I attacked I got more than two minutes, but with the headwind, it was so hard to stay away," De Gendt said. "I went really full for the last 30km. I didn't think I could make it, but because I had some seconds, I really wanted to stay in the first group if they caught me. It's incredible that I stayed away."
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De Gendt spent much of the shortened stage in the breakaway and then attacked to go solo ahead of the second and final climb Port de Collabos, 5km and an average of 8 per cent.
He started the stage only 12 seconds behind Valverde in the general classification but became even more of a threat after picking up five seconds in time bonuses throughout the day.
His lead swayed between 25 and 35 seconds as he closed in on the finish line, which was all he needed to ride away with the day's spoils.
How it unfolded
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Race Results http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/volta-ciclista-a-catalunya-2018/stage-3/results
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