Marcel Camprubí climbs to second place in the general standings on a day with a lively pace and attacks by Fran Muñoz
34º Vuelta a Madrid sub23
Stage 3: Paracuellos de Jarama – Paracuellos de Jarama (136 km)
Marcel Camprubí climbed positions in the provisional general classification of the Vuelta a Madrid after a lively and exciting third stage in which the victory, coming from the great breakaway of the day, went to Unai Aznar (Lizarte) from Navarre. The U23 structure set a high pace within the last 50 kilometres that caused a great selection in the leader’s group. Camprubí is now second, 1’07” behind the leader. Fran Muñoz is in eighth place.
On a route that lost a lap of the 22-kilometre circuit around Paracuellos del Jarama due to traffic and mobility issues, five laps in the end instead of the six planned, a breakaway of ten riders ended up consolidating in the vanguard of the bunch. These ten riders would ride with almost four minutes. Each climb up to Paracuellos, two kilometres that are very tight, implied a small selection at the front and as a result of this attrition, a quintet was the one that faced the final lap.
After the halfway point of the race, the U23 structure of the Foundation imposed a very high pace on the peloton that left the leader’s group with barely thirty riders. With 18 km to go there were ten of them. In the final lap, Fran Muñoz moved out of this group on several occasions and was able to ride in the middle, 50 seconds behind the leader’s group and with a gap of twenty riders over the leader’s group. On the last climb, with less than three kilometres to go, Muñoz would be caught by the group of a solid Balderstone where Marcel Camprubí was also riding reliably.
This Saturday, the penultimate stage, starting and finishing in the town of Parla. Italy’s Gabriele Raccagni, who dropped out during the third stage, will not be taking part.
