In a finish for sprinters, Jonathan Milan won the third stage of Vuelta a la Comunidad Valenciana 2024. The young Italian of Lidl-Trek, who was a clear favorite to take the victory, was the fastest in the sprint of a small and reduced peloton, after a flat fraction of 161.3 kilometers starting in San Vicente del Raspeig and finishing in Orihuela. Italian Alessandro Tonelli (VF Group – Bardiani CSF – Faizanè) kept the lead.
The transalpine sprinter defeated Belgian Arne Marit (Intermarché – Wanty) and his compatriot Giovanni Lonardi (Team Polti Kometa), who came 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
The two Colombians in competition again entered with the best and remain in the fight for the title. Einer Rubio (Movistar Team) finished 27th and Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain – Victorious) finished 67th, both with the same time as the day’s winner.
In the overall individual classification the Italian Alessandro Tonelli (VF Group – Bardiani CSF – Faizanè) remains solid in the lead with an accumulated time of 11:34:26, ahead by 1:08 and 1:28 seconds to the Slovenian Matej Mohorič (Bahrain – Victorious) and the Austrian Felix Großschartner (UAE Team Emirates), respectively. While Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain – Victorious) is fourth, 1:29 behind the leader.
The breakaway of the day was led by the Spaniards Asier Etxeberria (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Unai Esparza (Illes Balears Arabay Cycling) and Ander Okamika (Burgos-BH); the British Nathan Smith (Novo Nordisk), the Uruguayan Guillermo Silva (Kern Pharma Team) and the Canadian Laurent Gervais (Project Echelon Racing), but at the end they were all neutralized by the group of favorites.
This Saturday, February 3, the fourth stage of the Valencian round will be disputed, a super mountainous fraction of 175.2 kilometers starting in Teulada Moraira and finishing in Vall d’Ebo, which includes five categorized ports and a high finish.
Stage 3 | San Vicente del Raspeig – Orihuela (161,3 km)
| 1 | Jonathan Milan | Lidl – Trek | 3:42:04 |
| 2 | Arne Marit | Intermarché – Wanty | ,, |
| 3 | Giovanni Lonardi | Team Polti Kometa | ,, |
| 4 | Filippo Fiorelli | VF Group – Bardiani CSF – Faizanè | ,, |
| 5 | Simone Consonni | Lidl – Trek | ,, |
Ranking General Individual
| 1 | Alessandro Tonelli | VF Group – Bardiani CSF – Faizanè | 11:34:26 |
| 2 | Matej Mohorič | Bahrain – Victorious | 1:08 |
| 3 | Felix Großschartner | UAE Team Emirates | 1:28 |
| 4 | Santiago Buitrago | Bahrain – Victorious | 1:29 |
| 5 | Aleksandr Vlasov | BORA – hansgrohe | 1:30 |
| 6 | Filippo Fiorelli | VF Group – Bardiani CSF – Faizanè | 1:31 |
| 7 | Paul Double | Team Polti Kometa | ,, |
| 8 | Giovanni Aleotti | BORA – hansgrohe | ,, |
| 9 | Joan Bou | Euskaltel – Euskadi | ,, |
| 10 | Einer Rubio | Movistar Team | ,, |