Following yesterday’s spectacular performance by Bahrain Victorious, the team worked hard again on Stage 3 of La Vuelta a la Comunitat Valenciana, from Algemesí to Alpuente on a rolling 180km. The stage held special significance as the route passed through several towns affected by last October’s DANA storm.

Santiago Buitrago confirmed his excellent form with a brilliant attack 22km from the finish, with João Almeida (UAE XRG) following his wheel. However, they were unable to establish a decisive gap and were caught a few kilometers later by a reduced group, which included TBV teammates Pello Bilbao and Lenny Martinez.

After an attempt from Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers), it was Iván Romeo (Movistar) who proved to be the strongest on the day, breaking away with 16km left. Despite the chase behind, Romeo maintained his advantage and claimed a solo victory, crossing the line 10 seconds ahead of the reduced group.

Buitrago fought hard on the final 1.3km kick (6.5%), sprinting to second place and securing valuable bonus seconds in the General Classification. Almeida finished third, just ahead of Bilbao in fourth.

With previous GC leader Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) forced to abandon after an early crash, Buitrago now moves up to 2nd place overall, just 2 seconds behind Almeida.

“It was another amazing day for us,” Buitrago commented after his strong performance, which allowed him to retain the Points jersey and take the King of the Mountains jersey from his teammate Bilbao. “The team did an incredible job from the start—Kamil (Gradek) and Rainer (Kepplinger) controlled the early part, and my other teammates supported me in the finale. I have to thank them for their effort. Even though we didn’t take the stage win, we improved in the GC. With two more stages to go, we are highly motivated.”

TBV Sports Director Roman Kreuziger also praised the fantastic work of Kepplinger and Gradek:

“A huge thanks to them because no team was really interested in controlling the stage. A six-man break built an advantage of almost 7 minutes, and Kamil and Rainer worked all day to bring it back before km 150. When the race exploded, we still had numbers, with three riders in the selective group. It was a very reduced bunch and difficult to control. Romeo already showed great form yesterday, and today his attack paid off. Of course, we wanted the win, but after yesterday’s victory, we were once again fighting at the front and gained some seconds in the GC. The race is still on until Sunday.”

With two stages remaining, Bahrain Victorious holds two podium spots in the overall standings, with Buitrago in 2nd (+2”) and Bilbao 3rd (+21”), while also leading the team classification.

Tomorrow, another rolling stage awaits, which could favour breakaway specialists.