The Andalucía Bike Race 2023 changes leaders in stage 3

Third stage of the Andalucía Bike Race by GARMIN 2023 and the Wilier Pirelli Factory pair formed by Rabensteiner and Alleman repeat victory and take the lead in the general classification. In women, Dohrn and Njemcevic have achieved their first stage win and have also taken the lead.

Rabensteiner-Alleman and Dohrn-Njemcevic win stage 3 of the Andalucía Bike Race by GARMIN 2023 and take the lead in the general classification

The third stage of the Andalucía Bike Race by GARMIN has once again had Jaén as the venue for the start and finish. The start of the day has been, for the second consecutive day, in front of the Cathedral of Jaén, but this time the riders have passed through Los Villares to then face Las Cimbras, the Cañada de las Hazadillas and the slope of the Cerro de San Cristobal, in a newly created stage.

After two hard days on the trails of Jaén, the riders faced in this third stage the most technical and hardest day of this edition, where they climbed more than 2,200 meters of altitude difference along the 64 kilometers of the stage. Snow and ice were once again the protagonists on the highest peaks, with some descents where the riders had to show all their technical skills.

Fabian Rabensteiner and Wout Alleman (Wilier Pirelli Factory) tried to repeat the script of yesterday's stage by setting a high pace from the start, allowing them to break away on their own and take their second stage victory and the overall lead.

"We felt good from the start and attacked on the first climb. We saw that the leaders were having difficulties and we didn't stop to get an advantage over the chasing group."

In their chase, two groups have formed that have ended up joining in the last downhill to the finish at the Olivo Arena in Jaén. Francesco Failli and Riccardo Chiarini (Taddei Factory Team) led a group of up to six pairs that arrived just over three minutes behind the new leaders. Enrique Morcillo and Hugo Drechou (BUFF®-Megamo Team) completed the podium of the stage. For the Polish Michal Paluta and Pawel Bernas (JBG2 Team) the stage was hard, which made them lose the general classification to Rabensteiner and Alleman.

In the women's category, there has also been a change of leadership in the general classification, with a similar situation as in the Elite Men's category. Stefanie Dohrn and Lejla Njemcevic (Canyon-Allebike) have also sought an early attack and from the first kilometers have imposed their pace. Dohrn and Njemcevic took the stage victory, being the third different pair to win in the first three stages of this Andalucía Bike Race by GARMIN.

“Las sensaciones han sido muy buenas. Estamos progresando etapa a etapa y cada día nos encontramos mejor, que es una buena señal porque quedan tres etapas más”.

The Canyon-Allebike pair also took the overall lead, with the same time as Katazina Sosna and Irina Luetzelschwab (Team Torpado-BULLS Swiss), second in today's stage. Txell Figueras and Janina Wüst (BUFF®-Megamo Team), who until today were leading the overall, finished third in the stage and also took third place in a very close overall between the first three pairs.

The race says goodbye to Jaén and tomorrow moves to Villafranca de Córdoba for the stage against the clock. It will be a fast and demanding stage, which will have about 32 kilometers and 900 meters of positive elevation gain with a route of constant ups and downs. The starting point will be the Recinto Ferial and the riders will face an area of trails where the Subida de Los Rafaeles stands out. In the second part of the stage, the most decisive point will be the ascent to 'La Risa', a mythical ascent in Villafranca de Córdoba.

STAGE 3 CLASSIFICATION - UCI ELITE MEN CATEGORY

1. Fabian Rabensteiner - Wout Alleman WILIER PIRELLI FACTORY 03:05:48
2. Francesco Failli – Riccardo Chiarini TADDEI FACTORY TEAM 03:08:53
3. Enrique Morcillo – Hugo Drechou BUFF®-MEGAMO TEAM 03:08:54

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION – UCI ELITE MEN CATEGORY

1. Fabian Rabensteiner – Wout Alleman WILIER PIRELLI FACTORY 07:50:35
2. Francesco Failli – Riccardo Chiarini TADDEI FACTORY TEAM 07:54:31
3. Roberto Bou – Miguel Mu?n?oz CANNONDALE VAS ARABAY 07:55:03

STAGE 3 CLASSIFICATION - UCI ELITE WOMEN CATEGORY

1. Lejla Njemcevic - Stefanie Dohrn CANYON ALLEBIKE 03:54:44
2. Katazina Sosna – Irina Luetzelschwab TEAM TORPADO BULLS SWISS 03:56:03
3. Txell Figueras – Janina Wu?st BUFF®-MEGAMO TEAM 03:57:27

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION – UCI ELITE WOMEN CATEGORY

1. Lejla Njemcevic - Stefanie Dohrn CANYON ALLEBIKE 09:44:23
2. Katazina Sosna – Irina Luetzelschwab TEAM TORPADO BULLS SWISS 09:44:23
3. Txell Figueras – Janina Wu?st BUFF®-MEGAMO TEAM 09:45:30