Time trial specialist Romeo surprises UAE and Bahrain in bonus seconds battle, Almeida takes lead after Vacek’s crash

Iván Romeo won the third stage of the Tour of Valencia. The 21-year-old Spaniard of Movistar - reigning world time trial champion for U23s - attacked in the finale and crossed the line solo. João Almeida is the new leader thanks to a day full of bonus seconds against Santiago Buitrago, also because Lidl-Trek man Mathias Vacek had to drop out early due to a crash.

After a super fast team time trial, where Lidl-Trek won with a great display of power, there was a challenging climb on Thursday. On the final climb, Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) proved the strongest. He crossed the line ahead of teammate Pello Bilbao but narrowly missed taking Vacek's lead. However, another chance followed on Friday as another challenging stage was scheduled.

The opening part of the mountain stage was flat, and six riders took their chance to color the breakaway of the day. It was also the stage where Vacek crashed in the peloton. The young Czech hurt his shoulder but continued to ride. The early breakaway already took place at this point, and they stayed ahead for most of the day.

Read more below the video!

Almeida against Buitrago, Romeo takes advantage

The breakaway riders rode together over the Alto de Alcublas and Peñas de Dios before the final categorized climb was on the program after a long descent. The breakaway riders had a two-minute lead at the foot of El Remedio, but UAE Team Emirates-XRG and Bahrain had plans. As a result, the breakaway was caught at 30 kilometers from the finish - halfway up the climb.

UAE had good motivation, as there was a bonus sprint at the top of the climb, which Almeida won. He grabbed three seconds and Buitrago two, allowing Almeida to jump virtually over Vacek in the GC. The two riders continued for a while after the summit, and when the peloton caught them, Romeo noticed his opportunity. The Spaniard chose the perfect moment, and although UAE and INEOS were still chasing, Romeo stayed ahead.

Buitrago finished second ahead of Almeida, which means the difference between the two after three days is now two seconds in the GC, with two days to go.

Stage 3 Tour of Valencia 2025 results:

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