Stage 3

The road

At the start

The first test, on the Arrate

Degenkolb took his first Grand Tour stage in Pamplona and Movistar still own the first five places overall. Enrico Gasparotto did not start. Today is only a hundred and fifty-three kilometres, but it goes into the Basque Country over three categorised climbs and finishes on the Alto de Arrate — far too hard for a third day, which is exactly why the contenders will not be able to help themselves.

How it was won

1. 145 km to go

   Movistar burn their own leader's jersey

   Castroviejo takes his turn on the front with the rest of his team and the break's lead falls to 2:40 with forty-five kilometres left. Everybody who fancies the Arrate is already moving up; by the foot of the climb the break is gone.

2. 211 km to go

   Terpstra opens the Arrate

   The Dutch champion attacks first and gets a handful of seconds. Contador sends Daniel Navarro to the front, then, finding himself leading with seven kilometres left, deliberately slows his cadence and invites somebody to make a mistake. Nobody does.

3. 37 km to go

   Valverde goes, and gives Contador his launchpad

   Ten Dam replaces Navarro, Froome glues himself to Contador's wheel, and Valverde slips away. He is reeled in — and Contador uses the catch as a springboard for the first of his attacks.

4. 44 km to go

   Six attacks in four kilometres

   With four kilometres left Contador goes again, and again, and again. Only three men can answer him: Valverde, Rodríguez and Froome, who takes longest each time. Everybody else in the Vuelta loses six seconds today.

5. 53 km to go

   Over the top, and Contador stops

   The gradient eases near the summit and the Spaniard, satisfied he has learned what he came to learn, settles for marking Froome in the sprint. That leaves the stage to the other two.

6. 6At the line

   Valverde by millimetres

   Rodríguez has the win in his hands and eases fractionally before the line — and Alejandro Valverde, kicking, takes it off him by the width of a tyre. Twenty seconds of bonus with it, and the red jersey off his own team-mate's shoulders.

The result