Pello Bilbao - "Today was perfect for me: a short, explosive climb and then a fast descent to the finish"

The third stage of the Tour Down Under on Friday saw Pello Bilbao come out on top, beating Simon Yates and Jay Vine in a sprint after separating from them on the final climb.

The Bahrain Victorious team appears to be on a roll, with Phil Bauhaus winning the first stage and now Bilbao securing another victory for the team. "This was the team's goal," he said after the race. He continues, "Yesterday we, were a bit disappointed because the race didn't go as we had hoped. On the line, we lost some seconds. But today was perfect for me: a short, explosive climb and then a fast descent to the finish. It was hard to join Yates and that UAE guy.”

Jay Vine was leading the pack as they headed for the finish line, but with his sights set on the GC, he decided to play it safe. Simon Yates came close to winning, but was ultimately outpaced by the Spaniard. “I kept my own pace and joined them in the last three hundred metres of the climb. I thought: if it gets a bit easier, they'll probably hold back a bit. But they climbed so fast today," said Bilbao.

His victory has propelled him to second place in the overall standings, just behind current leader Jay Vine. "I went into the sprint from the front and knew I had a good chance. They were more concerned with the general classification, I was more focused on the sprint and winning," concluded Bilbao.