New leaders in the overall of Andalucía Bike Race by GARMIN

Rabensteiner and Alleman repeat victory, while Dohrn and Njemcevic get their first victory

The third stage of Andalucía Bike Race by GARMIN has once again place in 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 Jaén Cathedral, but this time the riders have passed through Los Villares, Las Cimbras, the Cañada de las Hazadillas and the slope of the Cerro de San Cristobal, in a newly created stage.

After two hard stages in 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 unevenness 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 day by setting a high pace from the start, allowing them to break away alone, add their second stage victory and take the overall lead. "We felt good from the start and attacked on the first climb. We saw that the leaders were struggling and we didn't stop to get ahead of the chasing group".

In their pursuit two groups were formed that ended up joining in the last descent towards 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 tough, which made them lose the overall to Rabensteiner and Alleman.

In the women's category, there has also been a change of leadership in the overall, 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 have imposed their pace from the first kilometers. Dohrn and Njemcevic took the stage victory, the third different pair to win in the first three stages of this Andalucía Bike Race by GARMIN. "The sensations have been very good. We are progressing stage by stage and we are feeling better every day, which is a good sign because there are three more stages to go."

The Canyon-Allebike team 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 classification, finished third in the stage and also took third place in a very close overall classification among the first three pairs.

The race says goodbye to Jaén and tomorrow moves to Villafranca de Córdoba for the time trial stage. It will be a fast and demanding stage, which will have about 32 kilometers and 900 meters of positive slope 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 RESULTS- ELITE UCI MEN'S CATEGORY

Fabian Rabensteiner - Wout Alleman WILIER PIRELLI FACTORY 03:05:48

Francesco Failli – Riccardo Chiarini TADDEI FACTORY TEAM 03:08:53

Enrique Morcillo – Hugo Drechou BUFF®-MEGAMO TEAM 03:08:54

OVERALL RESULTS- UCI ELITE MEN'S CATEGORY

Fabian Rabensteiner – Wout Alleman WILIER PIRELLI FACTORY 07:50:35

Francesco Failli – Riccardo Chiarini TADDEI FACTORY TEAM 07:54:31

Roberto Bou – Miguel Múñoz CANNONDALE VAS ARABAY 07:55:03

STAGE RESULTS - UCI ELITE WOMEN'S CATEGORY

Lejla Njemcevic - Stefanie Dohrn CANYON ALLEBIKE 03:54:44

Katazina Sosna – Irina Luetzelschwab TEAM TORPADO BULLS SWISS 03:56:03

Txell Figueras – Janina Wüst BUFF®-MEGAMO TEAM 03:57:27