Meintjes breaks into GC top 20 on Vuelta stage three

UAE Team Emirates’ Louis Meintjes managed to keep with the relentless pace of fellow General Classification (GC) contenders on Stage Three of the Vuelta a España and finished a respectable 15th. The result means Meintjes climbs 92 places in the GC standings to 20th.

Fellow UAE Team Emirates riders Darwin Atapuma and Rui Costa also produced promising rides, when the pair broke away from the peloton with less than 55km to go. The pace though caught up to the duo with less than 15km to go as they ascended the final climb of the stage.

Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain Merida Pro Cycling Team) secured his first stage win of the 2017 Vuelta, whilst Tour de France winner Chris Froome (Team Sky) took the red jersey.

Commenting on his performance, UAE Team Emirates’ Louis Meintjes said; “It wasn’t a super day and since I’m familiar with the last climb, I preferred to do it at my own pace, trying to lose as fewer seconds as possible. It was the first hard day of the Vuelta a España and the road to Madrid is long.”

Stage Four shouldn’t present too many problems for the riders, with only one significant challenge factored into the 198.2km route. That climb, the Alto de Belltall, will be crested with 66km to go as the peloton approach the finish in the Mediterranean town of Tarragona, which has not hosted a stage of Vuelta since 2013.  The temperature in the Catalan region must be taken into account and riders can expect the mercury to hit 30 degrees at certain points of the route

Stage 3 results

1 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 4:01:22

2 David de la Cruz (Spa) Quick-Step Floors s.t.

3 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky s.t.

15 Louis Meintjes (RSA) UAE Team Emirates +54’’

19 Rui Alberto Faria da Costa (Por) UAE Team Emirates +1’14’’

General Classification after stage 3

1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 8:53:44

2 David de la Cruz (Spa) Quick-Step Floors +2’’

3 Nicolas Roche (Irl) BMC Racing Team +2’’

20 Louis Meintjes (RSA) UAE Team Emirates +1’43’’