Stage 3: Cafes Delta (C. Maior) - Castelo Branco, 150.9 km
Under the continuing pall of smoke and unbearable heat (102°F/39°C),
Victoriano Fernandez achieved his first professional win today, and in what will
surely be one of the most memorable moments of his life, also donned the race
leader's yellow jersey on the podium.
The 30 year old Fernandez was truly one of the stars of the stage in another
way, breaking away at km 21 with four other riders, Krassimir Vassilev (Porta da
Ravessa-Bom Petisco), Oscar Romero (Beppi-Pepolim), Dermot Dally (Paternina) and
Sergio Perez (Relax), and after the first hour of racing the escapees had a lead
of seven minutes on the peloton.
By the time they tackled the only climb of the stage, the lead had dropped to
around six minutes and the peloton, if the weather were not enough, was much too
close for comfort to one of the hundreds of fires raging in Portugal.
Courtesy Volta a Portugal
At the 138.5 km mark, about three minutes separated the escapees
from the perseguidores. Fernandez attacked and pedalled furiously to gain an
advantage; his four companions did not respond, and were absorbed by the peloton
at 4 km to go. The victorioso Victoriano crossed the line alone. The finish for
second was a mass sprint, with over one hundred riders finishing at 23 seconds.
Candido Barbosa was the first in the peloton to cross the line,
but after the stage was penalized one minute by the judges for causing Paulo
Ferreira (Cantanhede) to crash in the early kilometers. Fernandez's long
breakaway and final attack should be as well celebrated as his win.
Following the retirement of all but two Kelme riders yesterday
due to severe intestinal problems, the rest of the team abandoned today.
Courtesy Volta a Portugal
Results
1 FERNANDEZ, Victoriano ESP ASC-VILA DO CONDE 3:37:34
2 BARBOSA, Candido POR L.A. PECOL a 23
3 EDO, Angel ESP MILANEZA-MSS s.t.
4 PICCOLI, Mariano ITA LAMPRE s.t.
5 SOEIRO, Pedro POR CARVALHELHOS-BOAVIST s.t.
6 MARTA, Nuno POR BARBOT-TORRIE s.t.
7 LOPES, Pedro POR L.A. PECOL s.t.
8 GALVAN, Ruben ESP ASC-VILA DO CONDE s.t.
9 RIGHI, Daniele ITA LAMPRE s.t.
10 GARCIA, David ESP CANTANHEDE-M-MARIALV s.t.
11 BENITO, Alberto ESP ANTARTE- ROTA MOVEI s.t.
12 HERMIDA, Pedro ESP BEPPI-PEPOLIM s.t.
13 LEMOS, Gustavo ESP CARVALHELHOS-BOAVIST s.t.
14 QUITERIO, Cesar POR ANTARTE- ROTA MOVEI s.t.
15 BLANCO, David ESP P.RAVESSA-BOM PETISC s.t.
16 PASAMONTES, Luis ESP COL.RELAX-FUENLABRAD s.t.
17 GOLBANO, Carlos ESP PATERNINA-C.ALMERIA s.t.
18 TOLEDO, Gustavo M. ARG PATERNINA-C.ALMERIA s.t.
19 SCHEIRLINCKX, Staf BEL FLANDERS-ITEAMNOVA s.t.
20 ZINTCHENKO, Andrei RUS L.A. PECOL s.t.
General Classification after Stage 3
1 FERNANDEZ, Victoriano ESP ASC-VILA DO CONDE 11:43:30
2 BENITO, Alberto ESP ANTARTE- ROTA MOVEI a 19
3 EDO, Angel ESP MILANEZA-MSS a 21
4 GOLBANO, Carlos ESP PATERNINA-C.ALMERIA a 32
5 SARREIRA, Luis POR CANTANHEDE-M-MARIALV a 32
6 VITORINO, Nelson POR P.RAVESSA-BOM PETISC a 34
7 MARTA, Nuno POR BARBOT-TORRIE a 35
8 SOEIRO, Pedro POR CARVALHELHOS-BOAVIST a 35
9 GALVAN, Ruben ESP ASC-VILA DO CONDE a 35
10 BLANCO, David ESP P.RAVESSA-BOM PETISC a 35
11 QUITERIO, Cesar POR ANTARTE- ROTA MOVEI a 35
12 PASAMONTES, Luis ESP COL.RELAX-FUENLABRAD a 35
13 GARCIA, David ESP CANTANHEDE-M-MARIALV a 35
14 LOPES, Pedro POR L.A. PECOL a 35
15 FERREIRA, Paulo POR CANTANHEDE-M-MARIALV a 36
16 NUÑEZ, Isarael ESP ASC-VILA DO CONDE a 37
17 LUCIO, Hugo POR BARBOT-TORRIE a 38
18 LEMOS, Gustavo ESP CARVALHELHOS-BOAVIST a 39
19 SCHEIRLINCKX, Staf BEL FLANDERS-ITEAMNOVA a 39
20 JEKER, Fabian SUI MILANEZA-MSS a 39
Courtesy Volta a Portugal
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