Vuelta a España (st. 3)
Dani 14th at first mountain stage in Vuelta a España, close to top GC contenders; Antonio on the attack at La Rabassa in only his third Grand Tour stage as a pro
Briton Chris Froome (SKY) has already taken over the GC lead of the 2017 Vuelta a España after onlyu three stages, following the very first mountain trek from Prades to Andorra la Vella (158km). The day was terribly hard for most of the peloton due to the consistent, fast pace all day; the slopes of the three rated climb; and the intense heat, temperatures exceeding 30ºC all over the course.
The Movistar Team, which had Dani Moreno at the front as the big selection was created by Sky from the foot of the decisive Alto de la Comella (Cat-2), had the Madrilian keeping the pace of the GC group until the final 8km. Moreno finished 14th in the stage, just 54" behind Vincenzo Nibali (TBM), to complete an overall decent day from the Blues, who were into the spotlight already at the Alto de la Rabassa (Cat-1). 25-year-old Antonio Pedrero, in only his third day inside the bunch of a Grand Tour, was the first to attack in pursuit of the early break, and covered the entire climb before the peloton until being reached down at the summit.
At the finish, as well as Moreno -who also sits in 14th overall-, Carlos Betancur (+1'14") and a notable Nelson Oliveira (+1'28") completed the day inside the best 30. Those are three of the names the Movistar Team will try to have featuring up-front in the mountainous stages of the Vuelta, which will cover another route for sprinters on Tuesday (198km from Escaldes-Engordany to Tarragona).