The third stage in this Vuelta brought the riders from Mijas to Málaga and they had to cover 158.4 kilometres. Eight riders were in the break of the day, the final rider was caught about fifteen kilometres of the finish. The stage ended in a bunch sprint. Sagan was the fastest, beating Bouhanni and Degenkolb. Tosh Van der Sande sprinted to a nice twelfth place. Chaves remains leader.

“It was actually the perfect situation for us today; eight riders we’re part of the break and afterwards Orica GreenEdge determined the pace," Lotto Soudal sports director Frederik Willems said. "They controlled the gap very well.

"Kris Boeckmans couldn’t sprint because he had some cramps on the final uphill, which is a bit a pity of course. Those cramps were most likely the consequence of a combination of a tough stage and the hot weather. Everyone has to adapt to such extreme weather conditions. Tosh Van der Sande took the place of Kris and sprinted to a fine twelfth place.”