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Colombian nationwide champion Alejandro Osorio (GW Erco Shimano) received stage 3 on the Tour Colombia after outsprinting late-race breakaway companion Rodrigo Contreras (Nu Colombia) in Tunja.
Contreras and Osorio shaped a bigger eight-rider breakaway that emerged on the ultimate lap of racing, however the Nu Colombia rider attacked inside 2km to go and gained a slim lead over the remainder of the group.
Osorio shortly responded, nevertheless, and crossed the hole, connecting with Contreras’ again wheel and profitable the two-up dash to the road.
Rigoberto Uran (EF Schooling-EasyPost) sprinted in for third place forward of Jonathan Caicedo (Petrolike) in fourth, Egan Bernal (Colombia) in fifth, Iván Ramiro Sosa (Movistar Workforce) sixth, Adrián Bustamante (GW Erco Shimano) seventh and Edgar David Cadena (Petrolike) eighth. All have been within the preliminary last-lap breakaway.
Niccolò Bonifazio (Corratec-Vini Fantini) received the decreased group dash for ninth place, crossing the road simply 11 seconds behind the breakaway.
Contreras moved into the general race lead, taking the jersey from stage 2 winner and in a single day chief Harold Tejada (Astana-Qazaqstan) because of his time bonus for second place. Tejada is now positioned in second total at six seconds again, with Andrea Piccolo (EF Schooling-EasyPost) in third at 11 seconds.
WorldTour groups have dominated the Tour Colombia since its inception in 2018, however Osorio’s victory and Contreras’ stint in yellow showcases the depth on the home scene. Each riders beforehand had WorldTour expertise, Osorio at Bahrain and Contreras at QuickStep and Astana.
“Colombian biking has plenty of expertise however it’s all the time troublesome to win towards WorldTour riders,” defined Osorio. “I feel that WorldTour riders have slightly bit than us as a result of they’ve extra know-how at their disposal.
“I’m not saying that cash is every little thing, however the tools is essential, and so are particulars like osteopaths, nutritionists and so forth. The extent of a WorldTour workforce is imposing, however we’re robust riders and we’re fighters.”
Osorio, nicknamed ‘Pony,’ was fired by Bahrain Victorious within the spring of 2022 for reportedly leaving their COVID-19 bubble, however he nonetheless retains hope of ultimately returning to the WorldTour.
“I’m 25 years outdated, and I nonetheless really feel younger,” he stated. “I’d like to return to Europe, I feel I’ve the expertise. We’ll be going to Coppi e Bartali in March, so I’ll hope to do nicely there. With the nationwide title and this stage, I’ve already achieved two desires this season, and profitable at Coppi e Bartali can be the third.”
The way it unfolded
The exact issue of the race profile was open to quite a lot of interpretations, however it was clear that any sort of circuit round Tunja, Colombia’s highest departmental capital, can be a demanding one. There is no arguing with geography.
When Harold Tejada (Astana-Qazaqstan) seized the yellow jersey with an enterprising victory in Santa Rosa de Viterbo, he was already being requested to forged his thoughts forward to the decisive summit end on the Alto del Vino on Saturday. The Colombian may have guessed, nevertheless, that his rivals can be poised to probe him for any indicators of weak spot on Thursday’s attritional stage, which took in of 11 laps of a 12.9km circuit.
Regardless of the rolling terrain and the altitude in extra of two,700m, the primary lap was run off at a brisk common tempo of 43kph, and there wasn’t a complete lot of respite even after the day’s early break of Santiago Gómez (Workforce Sistecrédito), Bernardo Suaza (Petrolike) and Brayan Sánchez (Workforce Medellín) cast clear.
That trio would ultimately carve out a bonus of greater than three minutes, placing Gómez into the digital race lead, however there was by no means any actual hazard of the scenario spiralling uncontrolled for the GC favourites. Like on Tuesday’s opening stage, Astana-Qazaqstan and Movistar discovered frequent trigger on the head of the bunch, although this day trip, it was their quick males who have been doing a lot of the work, with Mark Cavendish and Fernando Gaviria distinguished.
Cavendish ultimately swung off with a shade beneath 4 laps to go, however his present hadn’t fairly completed. As he soft-pedalled up the circuit’s hardest climb, the Manxman entered into the festive spirit of the event, accepting a telephone from a fan to take a rolling selfie after which slapping outstretched arms all technique to the highest of the ascent.
By then, the depth of the peloton was steadily rising, whereas the break was down to 2 riders, Suaza and Gómez. With three laps to go, the hole was right down to 1:50, and it was telling that EF Schooling-EasyPost’s Andrea Piccolo was now to the fore. As soon as the street started to climb once more, Richard Carapaz was quickly on the offensive, and his acceleration prompted a brisk response from a shortly shrinking bunch.
Carapaz went once more on the second climb of the circuit, splintering the bunch nonetheless additional, with Colombian champion Alejandro Osorio (GW) counter attacking excessive. Piccolo was subsequent to attempt his luck in a breathless sequence, and by the point they started the penultimate lap, there have been solely fifteen or so riders within the group of favourites, simply 30 seconds down on the escapees.
On the ultimate lap, a bunch of eight ultimately took form because of forcing from Uran, whereas Bernal was more and more to the fore on the run-in. The entrance group break up and reformed repeatedly within the closing kilometres, nevertheless, and it was Osorio and Contreras who slipped away within the finale, with the Colombian champion popping out on the highest.
Behind, the finale was marred by a late crash, with Oscar Sevilla (Medellin) among the many fallers. The 47-year-old, who shone on stage 2, was taken to hospital after the stage with accidents to his face and shoulder.
Outcomes
Outcomes powered by FirstCycling
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