Team Colombia-Coldeportes’ Walter Pedraza gave every ounce of energy in his attempt to jump to first place in the mountains classification, at the end of stage three of the Vuelta a España, Mijas-Malaga (158 km). The Colombian rider, who got to wear the KOM jersey after placing second in the mountains standings, behind the leader Esteban Chaves (Orica-GreenEdge), was among the eight men to go into the breakaway in a stage marked by extreme heat, which ended with the win of Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo).

The battle of the eight escapees – Pedraza, Omar Fraile (Caja Rural), Maarten Tjallingii (LottoNL-Jumbo), Ilia Koshevoy (Lampre-Merida), Natnael Berhane (MTN-Qhubeka), Sylvain Chavanel (IAM Cycling), Alexis Gougeard (Ag2r-La Mondiale) and Martin Velits (Etixx-Quickstep) – was focused on getting the points on the two climbs of the day, Alto de Mijas and Puerto del Leon, the race’s premier first category ascent. On both climbs, Fraile was the one to cross the top in first position, while Pedraza came third on the second ascent. As a result, the Spaniard took the KOM jersey, with a six-point advantage over Pedraza:

“Today I gave everything I had but the other riders in the breakaway were very strong and fast. However, I’m confident new opportunities will soon arise," Pedraza said.

The escape, which had a maximum gap of four minutes, was done and dusted with 15 km to go, when Maarten Tjallingii was the last one to get caught by the peloton which was led all day long by Tinkoff-Saxo. The Russian squad saw its effort rewarded in the final meters, where Peter Sagan took the wheel of John Degenkolb (Giant-Shimano), before outsprinting the German and Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis). Esteban Chaves continues to lead the general classification, after coming in the peloton today.

For the Escarabajos, Miguel Angel Rubiano was the one getting involved at the sprint: led up by Juan Pablo Valencia, the former Colombian national champion came home 15th:

“In the big stage races it’s difficult to get into a good position at a sprint, considering that many teams are very strong and well-prepared. It was a very tough stage, especially due to the high temperatures, but we still tried something in the sprint”, Rubiano said after the stage.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, stage four will take place – which will be, at 213 km, the longest one so far – between Estepona and Vejer de la Frontera. It will be a stage without difficulties concerning the altitude, but a short climb in the last kilometers will sure make up for a spectacular finish.