After consecutive third-place finishes, Irishman pulls off late attack to claim emotional victory for blue-and-white team in Spain
By REUTERSISRAEL START-UP Nation rider Dan Martin of Ireland in action during last month's Tour de France. The 34-year-old won the third stage of the Vuelta a Espana yesterday.(photo credit: REUTERS)Israel Start-Up Nation rider Dan Martin claimed victory on Stage 3 of the Vuelta a Espana as early race leader Primoz Roglic of Jumbo-Visma also put in a strong showing to remain in red on Thursday.The 166-kilometer Lodosa-to-Vinuesa route featured two categorized climbs which ultimately decided the outcome.The 34-year-old Martin, who had finished third in each of the first two stages, attacked in the last 200 meters of the final climb to Laguna Negra’s summit finish, holding off 2019 Vuelta winner Roglic of Slovenia and Ineos’s Ecuadorean Richard Carapaz in the battle to the line.“I’ve come so close to winning this year. I just really wanted to win a stage for this team because they’ve been so good to me,” the emotional Irishman said. “The sponsors have supported us all through COVID. Sylvan Adams and Ron Baron the owners – there were no salary cuts… and we were really motivated during the lockdown because of that to train harder.”“Obviously with the [back] injury at the Tour [de France], I couldn’t win a stage but I was really determined to win today. The team was amazing, and every single one of them played their part in the victory.“This win is partly for them and then partly for my wife, because this is the first time I’ve won a race since my kids were born and it’s really special.”On another unseasonably rainy day, which started with the news that France’s Thibaut Pinot had pulled out due to injury, there were multiple break attempts.However, hopes of a surprise win were extinguished as the peloton reeled them in on the opening slopes of the final climb.Colombian GC contender Esteban Chaves, part of the lead group, suffered a mechanical with just over four kilometers remaining and his rivals made him pay as they pulled clear while he waited to change bikes and he slipped to eighth in the overall standings.In a nip-tuck end to the climb, with gradients hitting double figures, several riders attempted to launch attacks but Martin’s well-timed move paid off as he claimed the stage win and cut Roglic’s overall lead to just five seconds.
