Javier Romo, Spanish Movistar Team rider, surprised and won the third stage of the Tour Down Under in Uraidla (Australia), and became the new leader of the general classification ahead of Ecuadorian Jhonatan Narvaez.
Romo, after staying with the peloton throughout the race, surprised the favorites with five kilometers to go and crossed the finish line five seconds ahead of Narvaez, which allows him to be leader.
The ‘lizard’ Narvaez did a very good race taking care of all the attacks that occurred in the last 50 kilometers. In the end, the Ecuadorian was surprised by the Spaniard, but crossed the finish line in second place. That allowed Narvaez to jump from eleventh to second place in the overall standings, eight seconds behind Javier Romo and with three stages to go.
“It’s a very important victory. I’ve worked hard this winter, always with an eye on the Tour Down Under and I couldn’t have imagined a day like today. I’m very happy. I want to thank my team, because today they worked perfectly for me to get this result, they had a lot of confidence in me and we got it,” said Romo, in statements collected by the telephone squad.
Narvaez commented: “It was a positive day for the team. We tried to make the race hard. It’s not always better to reflect on the race just because of the result. We achieved our goal of racing. Of course, we didn’t win, but we still have many opportunities ahead of us.”
The bad news for Ecuador was the hard crash suffered by Ecuadorian Martin Lopez, in the final kilometers of the competition. The broadcast showed the cyclist of hope lying on the ground and in great pain.
The Astana team’s medical report says: “A detailed check confirmed that Martin Lopez has no fractures or other serious injuries. He was diagnosed with a mild concussion and facial trauma with a blunt laceration to the upper ciliary arch, which required stitches.”
This Friday, January 24, in Australia (Thursday 23, in Ecuador), the fourth stage of the Santos Tour Down Under, a day of medium mountain between Glenelg and Victor Harbor, on a 157.2 kilometers route, which also favors the Ecuadorian Jhonatan Narvaez.
Santos Tour Down Under (2.UWT)
Results Stage 3| Norwood – Uraidla (147,5 km)
| 1 | Javier Romo | Movistar Team | 3:46:01 |
| 2 | Jhonatan Narváez | UAE Team Emirates – XRG | 0:05 |
| 3 | Finn Fisher-Black | Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe | ,, |
| 4 | Albert Withen | Lidl – Trek | ,, |
| 5 | Thomas Gloag | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | ,, |
| 6 | Patrick Konrad | Lidl – Trek | ,, |
| 7 | Andrea Bagioli | Lidl – Trek | ,, |
| 8 | Bastien Tronchon | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | ,, |
| 9 | Rémy Rochas | Groupama – FDJ | ,, |
| 10 | Magnus Sheffield | INEOS Grenadiers | ,, |
Ranking General
| 1 | Javier Romo | Movistar Team | 10:13:51 |
| 2 | Jhonatan Narváez | UAE Team Emirates – XRG | 0:08 |
| 3 | Patrick Konrad | Lidl – Trek | 0:10 |
| 4 | Finn Fisher-Black | Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe | ,, |
| 5 | Bastien Tronchon | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | 0:12 |
| 6 | Magnus Sheffield | INEOS Grenadiers | 0:15 |
| 7 | Albert Withen | Lidl – Trek | ,, |
| 8 | Jay Wine | UAE Team Emirates – XRG | ,, |
| 9 | Chris Harper | Team Jayco AlUla | ,, |
| 10 | Andrea Bagioli | Lidl – Trek | ,, |
Fuente: www.primicias.ec