BORA – hansgrohe rider Jay McCarthy took the third place after a great lead-out from his teammates. Today´s third stage was marked by many attacks and a strong breakaway group. BORA – hansgrohe waited until the last climb and brought Jay in a good position for the final.
The third stage covered 160km with six categorized climbs, a race favored the climbers in the peloton.
After 40 kilometers of racing, Jakub Fuglsang (Team Astana) attacked and with other 8 riders they built the break group of the day. This breakaway built quickly a gap of 4:20 minutes to the main bunch.
The stage included some steep climbs, BORA – hansgrohe wasn´t in any breakaways. The team stayed together in the peloton to have enough energy for the final kilometers.
With 50 kilometers remaining the gap dropped slowly to 2 minutes. Team Sky and Team Movistar took control over the pace and tried to catch the escapees. A crash in the pack catered for more excitement but no injuries were recorded.
Before the penultimate climb, six riders came back in the peloton. With 40 kilometers to go Fuglsang, Montaguti (AG2R) and De Marchi (BMC) were the trio in front of the race.
When the race came to the 20 kilometers mark all breakaways were caught. BORA – hansgrohe formed for Jay McCarthy, the squad brought him in a good position on the final climb. In the descent David de la Cruz (Quick-Step Floors) attacked and was able to cross the finish line three seconds ahead of the main bunch. Jay McCarthy sprinted to a strong third place after a hectic bunch sprint and moved up second in the GC, teammate Patrick Konrad moved up fifth.
“The race was marked by many attacks and a strong breakaway group but Movistar and Sky took control over the peloton. We focused on the important last climb and we wanted to be in a good position and the plan worked. In the descent, de la Cruz attacked and took the win. Our boys did a great lead-out for Jay on the last 3 kilometers. The stage was pretty good today, the boys did an excellent job and brought Jay in the best position on the final climb.” – Steffen Radochla, sports director
“It was great team effort today, I am thankful that the team gave me the chance to sprint again for a good result. The boys made a great lead-out. Tomorrow will be a tough stage for sure I will give my best but I think we will have a good option with Patrick, who is in good shape.” – Jay McCarthy
