Astana's Lopez wins Vuelta a Burgos Stage 3
"First of all I want to thank my teammates for fantastic job today, the guys did a great stage, we controlled the race from the start and until the finish. I want to dedicate this victory to my team. It was a hard day, while on the last climb there was a very strong front wind. In a moment when the wind calmed down a bit, I decided to attack. I've got an advantage, but it was not easy at all to fight against front wind alone during all the way to the top. Yeah, later Sosa caught me, but in the end, I just did my best to hold on his wheel and to win the sprint. That's true, I am not in my top form yet, but looks like everything is going by plan for the Vuelta a España," explained Miguel Angel Lopez.
Stage 3 of the Vuelta a Burgos started in a small town of Sedano and finished atop 8,5-km-long climb Picón Blanco with an average gradient of 9,1% with a maximum over 15%. Astana Pro Team took the control over the race from the beginning: Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev and Jan Hirt worked hard to chase the daily breakaway and to set the rhythm in the group. With a few kilometers to go Nikita Stalnov and later Dario Cataldo increased the pace of the group dramatically, producing a huge selection in the group. Astana's leader Miguel Angel Lopez attacked twice: firstly with 4 km to and later with 3 km to go - it was a decisive move for a win.
Also, Pello Bilbao did a good race, he was always close to the leaders and finished 7th, 57 seconds behind his teammate.
Miguel Angel Lopez became the new leader of the general classification of the Vuelta a Burgos, Pello Bilbao is 7th.
Stage 4 of the race will be held tomorrow: 165 km from Monasterio San Pedro Gardeña to Ciudad Romana de Clunia.