Movistar outsmart UAE and INEOS! Iván Romeo wins stage 3 at Valenciana as João Almeida becomes new race leader
Cycling
Iván Romeo has won stage 3 of the Volta a Comunitat Valenciana with a strong solo attack in the final kilometers of the stage. The Movistar Team benefited from his power and from the tough ascent that dropped former race leader Mathias Vacek.
Although it was not as chaotic as in France, the start of the stage in Spain was another dreadful one for some as we saw race leader Mathias Vacek involved in a crash that saw other riders abandon. José Juan Prieto, Unai Iribar, Francisco Muñoz, Matteo Scalco, Walter Calzoni and Filippo Ridolfo formed the day's breakaway, anticipating the mountain battle ahead.
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This situation remained until the base of the final climb, with Muñoz being the final rider to get caught with 27 kilometers to go with the work of UAE Team Emirates - XRG. The Emirati team put several men to work and dropped the slightly injured Vacek - a new race then began, as UAE's work became defensive against their rivals.
Jefferson Alveiro Cepeda attacked close to the summit of the climb, but when Santiago Buitrago attacked it was virtual leader João Almeida himself who responded and the two would go on to take bonifications at the top of the climb. The work of INEOS brought back the duo, and soon after Iván Romeo attacked from the group - sparking a chase of INEOS, UAE and Bahrain who each had a men willing to work against the Spanish time-trialist.
He made it to the final ascent and crossed the line with a glorious stage victory, his first as an elite rider - also making his way closer to the race lead. Santiago Buitrago sprinted to second place in front of Almeida, but the bonifications of the Portuguese were enough to net him the race lead.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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- Roglic could not have won anyway, after Jonas followed him when Roglic decided it was his turn for a stage win. Jonas had already attacked Kuss twice, so it was Jonas who was within seconds of taking the lead before Kuss was 'gifted' the win. It felt a bit like Roglic was being thrown under the bus when the team made his unhappiness public.Hills3314-11-2026
- POG1, another nice doc about our favourite, I watched most of it with a big smile on my face (except for the bits about his crashes 😢 obvs!).Lozza14-11-2026
- Martinez had a good year! 5th at the Tour was a great result for him, albeit largely through getting in successful breaks, but he held it better than Pidcock who’d done the same.Lozza14-11-2026
- guess what Valgren, you're 34, and no you're not good enough. sorry to say.mij14-11-2026
- I'm a sepp fan and like to think he earned that LOL, indulge me : ) I think Jonas was fine. Roglic did not want to concede to Sepp. and I don't think you ever attack your own teammate in the leaders jersey if he is holding his own, which Sepp just about was.mij14-11-2026
- enough time? he's 24 years old. He's won 10 races over the last 2 years and some are significant. I won't argue about his attitude being good - it needs to improve. But with some coaching and mentorship he has a lot of winning ahead of him and has plenty of time to win a GT. I don't think he will ever beat Tadej, but everyone else is fair game Look at Mas and Valverde - they were 31 and 29, respectively, when they won the Vuelta.mij14-11-2026
- Pogacar has a fine head on his shoulders.Careful investments and a couple of coffee shops sounds like a wonderful way to chill after an intense career.Stay healthy GOAT.
Brucegel14-11-2026 - I live in Maribor.PogiSloFans14-11-2026
- I live in Ljubljana and often go on trips in the surrounding area, where I frequently see young cyclists in 'Pogi Team' jerseys training, either alone or in groups. By simply motivating so many young people to take up cycling, Tadej has already achieved something truly significant.Velijo14-11-2026
- That's an excellent point. It's interesting that Vader came to that realization only after he learned that his contract wasn't going to be renewed.
santiagobenites14-11-2026
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