Tim Wellens wins stage 3 of the Vuelta Andalusia (Ruta del Sol)

Belgian Tim Wellens extends UAE Emirates dominance in Andalusia and Tadej Pogacar remains leader

On Friday, UAE Emirates team leader Tadej Pogacar failed to claim a third consecutive victory in the Tour of Andalusia. Despite a day marked by a very strong wind, a breakaway of 20 riders started at the beginning of the stage took the advantage over the peloton, preventing the Slovenian from triumphing.

It was Tim Wellens, Pogacar's teammate, who finally won the day's stage. The Belgian, a member of the morning breakaway, managed to tame the steep slopes of the Alcala de los Gazules and raised his arms as he crossed the finish line. Pierre Latour of Team TotalEnergies finished second in the stage, fourteen seconds behind Wellens, while Samuelle Batistella of Team Astana finished third.

Despite this 21st place today, Tadej Pogacar must be satisfied to maintain his position as leader of the general classification. The Slovenian is still at the top of the general classification and his performance in this Tour of Andalusia is very promising. There are still several stages to go and the UAE Emirates rider could well take the overall victory.

Tim Wellens said afterwards, "It's a perfect day for me in a perfect week for the team, with a string of victories and my first success as a UAE Team Emirates driver. I was able to take my chance today and I am very grateful. It was a perfect scenario, given that Tadej is leading the general classification, which allowed me not to shoot too much in the breakaway, so it was a relaxing day for me with the only concern of the wind that could become dangerous. In the end, we all arrived together at the foot of the final hill, I had known this climb for previous years and so I was able to achieve a perfect performance."

VIDEO: 2023 Ruta del Sol (Vuelta a Andalucía) Stage 3

2023 Ruta del Sol (Vuelta a Andalucía) GC after stage 3

1  CORT Magnus EFE 15:01:18 -
2  COSTA Rui ICW 0:18
3  VAN WILDER Ilan SOQ 0:20
4  MADOUAS Valentin GFC 0:26
5 HINDLEY Jai BOH 0:26
6 PIDCOCK Thomas IGD 0:26
7 GANNA Filippo IGD 0:27
8 FOSS Tobias TJV 0:28
9 MOLLEMA Bauke TFS 0:28
1  ALMEIDA João UAD 0:28

2023 Ruta del Sol (Vuelta a Andalucía) Top 10

1 BEL Tim Wellens UAE Team Emirates 03:47:12
2 FRA Pierre Latour TotalEnergies + 14
3 ITA Samuele Battistella Astana Qazaqstan Team + 15
4 GBR Connor Swift INEOS Grenadiers + 15
5 BEL Laurenz Rex Intermarché-Circus-Wanty + 16
6 ITA Davide Bais EOLO-Kometa Cycling Team + 16
7 ITA Edoardo Zambanini Bahrain Victorious + 16
8 FRA Cyril Barthe Burgos-BH + 26
9 HUN Erik Fetter EOLO-Kometa Cycling Team + 28
10 ESP Gorka Izagirre Movistar Team + 28