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E-mail Xinhua, March 27, 2025
MADRID, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Spanish cyclist Juan Ayuso of UAE-Team Emirates won a demanding third stage of the Volta a Catalunya cycle race by a handful of centimeters ahead of Slovenia's Primoz Roglic of Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe on Wednesday.
The two main favorites for the week-long race were involved in a head-to-head sprint at the end of the 218-kilometer stage, which took in four categorized climbs, ending with the first category climb up to the finish line at the top of La Molina at almost 1,700 meters.
Most of the stage was dominated by France's Bruno Armirail, with the Decathlon AG2R-Le Mondiale Team rider launching a long solo ride over the first three climbs of the day, only being caught with nine kilometers left in the stage.
Armirail's reward was to go into the jersey for the best climber in the race, while the race for the stage win and the overall lead took off ahead.
After America's Sepp Kuss of Visma-Lease-A-Bike tried his luck for half a kilometer before being reeled in, New Zealand's George Bennet of Israel Premier Tech launched the first big attack, with Spain's Marc Soler of UAE-Team Emirates latching onto his wheel along with Italy's Lorenzo Fortunato of XDS Astana Team.
Kuss rode over to the lead trio before a sharp uphill kilometer to the finish line, but the main group overhauled them with around 700 meters left on the stage.
Soler helped to provide a lead-out to Ayuso, while Roglic tracked the pair and took the lead into the last tight corner. However, the Slovenian allowed Ayuso to overtake him on the rail and although he reacted there wasn't time to overhaul Ayuso, who also goes into the overall race lead with a six-second advantage over Roglic.
Thursday sees another mountainous stage with 188 kilometers between Sant Vicenc de Castellet and Montserrat Mil·lenari, which ends with a steep climb up to Montserrat, close to Barcelona.
The Volta is one of the main early season stage races in the cycling season, with many riders using it as preparation for the Giro d'Italia in May. Enditem
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