Samuel Sanchez of Team Euskaltel-Euskadi wins the third stage of the race
Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez of Team Euskaltel-Euskadi secured his second victory of the 2012 season during the third stage of the Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco 2012.
He crossed the finish-line in a quickest time 3 hours, 58 minutes and 15 seconds to grab his first victory of the season.
Joaquim Rodriguez of Team Katusha and Christopher Horner of Team RadioShack-Nissan occupied the second and the third positions.
Bauke Mollema of Team Rabobank finished 12 seconds behind to grab the fourth spot, with Damiano Cunego of Team Lampre-ISD achieving the fifth spot.
Mads Christensen of Team Saxo Bank achieved the first, second, third and fourth mountains category of the race.
Jose Herrada Lopez of Team Movistar and Christopher Horner of Team RadioShack-Nissan succeeded at the sixth and the seventh categories of the event.
Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez of Team Euskaltel-Euskadi earned 25 important points while Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver and Christopher Horner occupied 20 and 16 points in the respective order.
Samuel grabbed his first 2012 victory during the 6th stage of the Volta a Catalunya and also managed to finish at the second overall position.
Stage 2 winner Daryl Impey of GreenEdge Cycling Team failed to produce the desired results and could only manage the 132nd spot.
Impey noted after the stage 2 win, "I didn't come into today's stage expecting to win. We were riding for Allan [Davis]".
"When I found myself with the gap, I decided to take it. The boys worked so well early in the race and held it all together in the sprint".
"It's a massive victory - definitely the biggest moment in my career".
"Sprinting involves a lot of luck, so I was happy to take a chance with the gap. I was lucky to have enough left in the tank to hold it to the line".
"I kept thinking the field would blow past me in the final 100 metres, but they never did," he concluded.
Sanchez has now jumped up to the first overall spot after the stage 3 classifications with Christopher Horner, Joaquim Rodriguez, Ryder Hesjedal and Wout Poels claiming the next four positions.
The Spaniard is now eyeing the coming stages of the Tour of Basque Country and with three more stages to go he is a strong contender to receive the honours after the final general classifications.
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