Pablo Lastras wins third stage and celebrates overall win in Vuelta a Espana 2011
Movistar team’s Pablo Lastras Garcia showed a brilliant effort and won the third stage of Vuelta a Espana 2011 on Monday, August 22. He also took the overall leader’s yellow jersey.
The race started in Petrer and ended in Totana. The 35-year-old Spanish racing cyclists took the total of 3 hours, 58 minutes to cover the distance of 164 kilometres.
In the final 12 kilometres, Lastras launched an attack and easily beat Sylvain Chavanel of the Quickstep team. He dedicated his victory to his former team-mates Wouter Weylandt and Xavier Tondo.
After winning the stage, Lastras said, "I think that I won today because of the expertise that I've built up as a veteran rider, I think it was a good win. I really wanted to raise my arms at the finish today and I dedicate the win to Xavi Tondo and Soler
who is very ill.”
In the opening five kilometres to go, the three cyclists including, Pydgornyy, Chavanel and Nicolas Edet got away and were soon joined by the other two riders, Lastras and Irizar. With 68 kilometres to go, all of them stretched a lead of almost 8 minutes.
In the front of the bunch Liquigas-Cannondale and Leopard Trek increased their pace.
Podgornyy managed to gain points in the first sprint of the stage. After 117 kilometres, many cyclists were starting to struggle for the lead. Mark Cavendish worked well with Marcel Kittel and Leopard Trek team managed to cut the breakaway lead.
The group of four cyclists worked well in the climb, until Lastras made his winning move and took the stage victory. Chavanel was runner-up with 15 seconds down to the Spaniard and Markel Irizar Aranburu (Team RadioShack) finished third.
Chavanel said, “I gave it everything I had, I couldn't have done more. Anyway, I'm happy with my form, I feel good and I'm going to try again. Congratulations to Pablo. He was the strongest today and he's a great rider."
Lastras took the overall lead with the timing of 8 hours, 25 minutes and 59 seconds while Chavanel was in second place with 20 seconds behind Garcia. Aranburu was in third place with the difference of 1 minute and 8 seconds ahead of Podogornny.
Previously, Lastras took third place in the first and grabbed the overall standing in Vuelta a Andalucia. He also took the runner-up spot in the eleventh stage of Giro d’ltalia in 2008.
The next stage will run in Baza and end in Sierra Nevada and all the riders will cover the distance of 172 kilometres.
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