With Peter Sagan preparing for the world championships, Oscar Gatto has got the chance to lead Cannondale in stages that are usually the Slovakian's domain. Today he tried his hand in stage 3 but came up short against the GC riders.

Peter Sagan has made it clear that he wants to use the Vuelta a Espana to prepare for the World Championships and so he hasn't been in the mix for the stage wins. Instead, Cannondale have been supporting Oscar Gatto who sprinted to 6th yesterday.

Today the Italian looked strong on the final climb when he tried to keep up with Giampaolo Caruso's strong attack. However, the acceleration was too hard for the him and he cracked, finishing for down in the rankings.

”It was a very unpredictable finale today, open to many possibilities and riders," he said. "I knew Matthews was the main favorite and the hard work of his teammates proved he wanted to win today. When I saw Katusha forcing the pace, I thought it was my moment – I could not wait too much because there were a few riders faster than me. I hoped for a gap behind me but unfortunately did not happen. Anyway, I would like to try and exploit all these chances also in future.”