Wout van Aert wins the third stage of the Vuelta in Castelo Branco, Portugal, in the red leader's jersey. The Belgian came out on top in the sprint from the front.
Van Aert took his tenth stage win in one of the three grand tours, his first in the Vuelta. He had finished third in the opening time trial on Saturday, second a day later and now he was first. "You just have to be patient, it feels very good," said the winner.
Thanks to the bonus seconds, the 29-year-old extended his lead to 13 seconds, but this is unlikely to do him much good. On Tuesday, a steep final climb to Pico Villuercas at 1544 meters above sea level awaits the riders, they will have over 3500 meters of altitude in their legs.
The two Swiss riders Stefan Küng and Mauro Schmid are still in an excellent position in the overall classification in 4th and 6th place. Primoz Roglic should now launch an attack on the red jersey from 7th place. The Slovenian is half a minute behind Van Aert.
SDA
