Wout van Aert wins stage 3 sprint at Volta ao Algarve - Rui Oliveira and Marius Mayrhofer finished second and third

Wout van Aert has finally kicked off his wins for the 2024 season. Stage 3 of the Volta ao Algarve finished in a bunch sprint and the Belgian rider was the fastest in the tricky finale into Tavira.

Another seven-rider breakaway marked the day's events, this one including only riders from the local Portuguese teams. Frederico Figueiredo, Raúl Rota, Carlos Salgueiro, Afonso Eulálio, German Nicolás Tivani, António Ferreira and Francisco Morais.

There was a crash marking the day, a few riders went down heavily. Rui Costa was forced to abandon the race with just over 70 kilometers to go. Carlos Salgueiro was the final survivor from the escapee group, eventually being caught with 14 kilometers to go.

The finale proved very fast once again with the leadouts fighting for position. Intermarché - Wanty and Tudor Pro Cycling Team both had a strong finale into the final sprint. However Gerben Thijssen was forced to start his sprint early, and gave space for rivals to overtake him towards the finish line.

The slight uphill gradients also made the difference, Wout van Aert jumped from third wheel and took a strong victory. Rui Oliveira came a very tight second place, Marius Mayrhofer finished third. Daniel Martínez keeps the race lead as the peloton saw another crash close to the finish.