Wout van Aert outsprints Groves to remain in the Red Leader's Jersey

Belgian Wout van Aert outsprinted Australia’s Kaden Groves to win stage three and avenge his second place to Groves on the previous stage

Van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) was kept at bay by Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) on Sunday’s stage but took the overall lead.

At the end of today's 191.2-km Stage 3 from Lousa to Castelo Branco in Portugal, he tasted stage victory at his Vuelta debut.

Spain's Jon Aberasturi Izaga (Euskaltel-Euskadi) finished third in the bunch sprint. Van Aert increased his overall lead to 13 seconds over American Brandon McNulty thanks to the 10-second stage winning bonus.

Van Aert, who finished third in the opening time-trial stage, was again first to power for the line, but this time Groves was unable to overtake him and the Belgian could finally celebrate his first win since February.

“It’s worth it to be patient. It’s been quite a while since I could raise my hands and it feels so good,” Van Aert said.“I think I surprised him to go even before 200 metres. It was the perfect sprint for me.”

The early part of the stage was dominated by a four-man breakaway, which included Luis Angel Mate, the oldest rider in the race at 40, but it was his Euskaltel-Euskadi colleague Xabier Isasa who held out the longest. He was finally reeled in with 20 kilometres left to ride, and the expected sprint finish was set up.
With precious few sprint stages ahead in the Vuelta, Van Aert pulled out all the stops to ensure he was not denied for a second successive stage.

Tuesday's stage four brings the race to Spain after the opening3 stages in Portugal, with a 170.5-km mountain stage from Plasencia to Pico Villuercas.

“Unfortunately the fun is over, tomorrow I’ll be happy to support our team leaders Sepp Kuss and Cian Uijtdebroeks,” Van Aert said.

VIDEO: 2024 La Vuelta Stage 3 Highlights

2024 La Vuelta Stage 3 Top 10

1  VAN AERT Wout Team Visma | Lease a Bike 4:40:42
2  GROVES Kaden Alpecin - Deceuninck 0:00
3  ABERASTURI Jon Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:00
4  MARIT Arne Intermarché - Wanty 0:00
5  BITTNER Pavel Team dsm-firmenich PostNL 0:00
6  STRONG Corbin Israel - Premier Tech 0:00
7  LIVYNS Arjen Lotto Dstny 0:00
8  COQUARD Bryan Cofidis 0:00
9  SOTO Antonio Jesús Equipo Kern Pharma 0:00
10  CANAL Carlos Movistar Team 0:00