Date: Monday 19 August, 2024
Distance: 191.5km
Start location: Lousã
Finish location: Castelo Branco
Start time: 11:50 CET
Finish time (approx): 16:18 CET
After yesterday’s stage brought the riders inland and much further north into Portugal’s Central Region, the landscape will have a very different look to it from what they have experienced so far. They will set off from Lousã, a small town nestled within the eponymous Lousã mountain range, an area of natural beauty, a wide array of flora and fauna, and soothing natural pools, that sets the tone for the rest of the day.
This mountain range is the westernmost point of the Sistema Central, that stretches all the way along the Iberian Peninsula from here through Extremadura, Castille y León and Castille-La Mancha, deep into central Spain. Many of its summits are therefore very familiar to the Vuelta a España, such as those in Sierra de Guadarrama north of Madrid, but this will be the first time the race has ventured to the other side of the border to sample the Portuguese summits.
Stage three won’t actually feature any climbs in the Lousã mountains, which the riders will pass through rather than over, but won’t be spared upon heading eastwards and into the Serra da Estrela range. Also part of the Sistema Central, the Serra da Estrela is home to a national park, where the landscape is especially striking, sculpted into weird and wonderful shapes by the impact of ice and snow. Cheese lovers ought to try the Serra da Estrela that’s produced here, distinguished by its artisanal production and for being coagulated with thistle flowers rather than the usual rennet, that makes it the nation’s most popular cheese.
In the Serra da Estrela, the riders will be confronted by the first proper climb of this year’s Vuelta. Even discounting the short downhill halfway up, the 17.5km from the bottom to the top of the Alto de Teixeira is much longer than anything they faced yesterday or later today, and enough for it to be designated a category two rating. Its average gradient of 3.2% is a deceptive stat, as it’s mitigated by a downhill mid-way up, and so it could be tricky for some sprinters to hang on in the peloton should pressure be applied at the front of the peloton.
There is, however, plenty of time for any distanced riders to rejoin the peloton over the next 106km to the finish at Castelo Branco, the vast majority of which are flat. The only exception is the Alto de Alpedrinha, crested 43km from the finish as the riders head south out of the national park. That makes it a more inviting moment for attackers to try and break out of the peloton and go for the stage win, but, lasting only 6.4% an averaging a tame 3.4%, it’s much easier than the Teixeira, and will be hard for anyone to open up a meaningful gap. A sprint finish appears the most likely outcome.
Stage profile sourced via Vuelta website
Contenders
With few sprints on offer in this Vuelta and a short list of riders with a fast finish, we'll likely see a similar set of riders to the fore if this stage does conclude in a bunch sprint.
Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) will be pleased to have picked up where he left off last year at the Vuelta by winning stage two's sprint, and the Australian will be favourite to repeat that feat here.
The man he beat, Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), now leads the race overall but will desperate to get a long-awaited win since the spring. The Belgian has the ability to beat Groves in a straight sprint, so is more than capable of winning stage three.
Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech) out in a decent sprint to finish third given he's more of a Classics-style rider, but will need everything to go his way to beat the two aforementioned riders.
Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) put in a disappointing showing on stage two despite being one of the purer sprinters in this Vuelta peloton. The Frenchman could only manage 14th, and will be desperate to take any opportunity to seal his first ever Grand Tour stage victory.
Elsewhere Pavel Bittner (Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL), Arne Marit (Intermarché-Wanty), and Jon Aberasturi (Euskaltel-Euskadi) are ones to watch, while Jhonatan Narváez (Ineos Grenadiers) has a fast enough finish to be in the mix too.
Stage three winners prediction
We think Wout van Aert will claim victory on stage three of the Vuelta.
