CYCLING – Antonio Tiberi of Bahrain Victorious put on an impressive display on stage 3 of Volta Catalunya as he rounded off the podium with a third-place finish behind race winner Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) and Mikel Landa (Soudal Quickstep), while our GC leader Wout Poels finished just behind Tiberi in fourth.
It was another difficult day in the Pyrenees, but unlike stage 2, conditions were kinder with clear skies over the 176,7 km from Sant Joan de les Abadesses to Port Aine. With the parcour featuring 3,958 vertical metres and two Hors Category climbs it showed a promising stage for the breakaway.
On the first climb, a group of about 10 riders managed to gap the peloton, with Jack Haig attempting to bridge over to the break. However, UAE Emirates had other ideas putting a relentless pace at the front of the peloton and giving the break less than a minute throughout the day and keeping things under control for their leader.
On the final climb, the group had dwindled down to about 20 riders which included Tiberi and Wout Poels. With 6km to go, race winner Pogacar had gone clear while a chase group of three riders formed.
Meanwhile, Victorious riders were placed in the third group controlling their effort on the challenging climb. Landa was the only one to break clear of the chase to finish second, while Tiberi and Poels perfectly paced themselves to catch the rest in the final 2km and take the final step of the podium and fourth on the stage.
Tiberi was pleased with his performance after a hard day on stage 2. He said: “Today was really hard from the beginning. Also especially after the stage of yesterday with the rain and the cold. Also, yesterday was really hard for me until 200m to the finish. Yesterday I was almost there but I finished my fuel. Today I was eating more from the start, and the feeling was better than yesterday. The last climb was really hard and I tried to follow the best guys with Landa, and Pogacar, who like always were strong. At the end, I finished 3rd and I’m super happy.”
Poels moved up to eighth in the GC and was pleased with the overall performance. “I think we had a really good day as a team, and I think we were smart not to try follow Pogacar because that is next level. And I think Antonio rode maturely too, and just follow and not go too early and blow up, which was the case for those we brought back in the end. So overall I think we did well. I feel that my condition is good, and so I’m looking forward to moving up in the GC,” said Poels.
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