Wout van Aert added a stage victory at the Vuelta a España to his long list of achievements on Monday, sprinting to victory in the leader’s red jersey in Castelo Branco.
The Belgian is now a stage winner in all three Grand Tours.
He initially took over the red jersey of race leader on stage two, overhauling American Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) who had won the opening time-trial 24 hours earlier.
Van Aert finished second on the stage behind Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck), but the bonus seconds were enough for him to seize the lead of the race.
Groves took the lead of the points classification with his win, seven points ahead of Van Aert. However, van Aert’s win on Monday saw him jump ahead of the Australian in the points jersey standings.
Lidl-Trek’s Mathias Vacek finished second in the opening time-trial and kept holding of the lead of the youth classification.
Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) took the lead of the climber’s competition by winning the sprint to the second classified climb of the stage.
UAE Team Emirates continue to lead the team classification, ahead of Lidl-Trek and Team Visma-Lease a Bike.
Vuelta a España 2024 stage three: Lousa to Castelo Branco
1. Wout van Aert (Bel) Visma-Lease a Bike, in 4:40:42
2. Kaden Groves (Aus) Alpecin-Deceuninck
3. Jon Aberasturi (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
4. Arne Marit (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty
5. Pavel Bittner (Cze) dsm-firmenich PostNL
6. Corbin Strong (Nzl) Israel-Premier Tech
7. Arjen Livyns (Bel) Lotto Dstny
8. Jesús Antonio Soto (Esp) Equipo Kern Pharma
9. Carlos Canal (Esp) Movistar
10. Pau Miquel (Esp) Equipo Kern Pharma, all at same time
Vuelta a España 2024 general classification after stage three
1. Wout van Aert (Bel) Visma-Lease a Bike in 10:05:59
2. Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Team Emirates, +13s
3. Mathias Vacek (Cze) Lidl-Trek +15s
4. Stefan Küng (Swi) Groupama-FDJ, +19s
5. Edoardo Affini (Ita) Visma-Lease a Bike, +21s
6. Mauro Schmid (Swi) Team Jayco AlUla, +19s
7. Primoz Roglič (Slo) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +30s
8. Bruno Amirail (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, +31s
9. Joao Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates, +32s
10. Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar, +33s
Vuelta a España 2024 points classification after stage three
1. Wout van Aert (Bel) Visma-Lease a Bike, 98pts
2. Kaden Groves (Aus) Alpecin-Deceuninck, 65pts
3. Luis Angel Maté (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi, 35pts
4. Corbin Strong (Aus) Israel-Prmeier Tech, 35pts
5. Jon Izaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi, 34 pts
Vuelta a España 2024 youth classification after stage three
1. Mathias Vacek (Cze) Lidl-Trek in 10:06:14
2. Mauro Schmid (Swi) Team Jayco AlUla, +14s
3. Florian Lipowitz (Ger) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +19s
4. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek, +20s
5. Filippo Baroncini (Ita) UAE Team Emirates, +24s
Vuelta a España 2024 mountains classification after stage three
1. Luis Angel Maté (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi, 9pts
2. Xabier Larranaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi, 3pts
3. Ibon Ruiz (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma, 3pts
4. Stefan Kung (Swi) Groupama-FDJ, 2pts
5. Roger Adria (Spa) Red Bull Bora-hansgrohe, 1pts
Vuelta a España 2024 teams classification after stage three
1. UAE Team Emirates in 30:19:19
2. Lidl-Trek, +12s
3. Visma-Lease a Bike, +13s
