Aurélie Sacchelli, Media365, published on Wednesday April 17, 2024 at 3:45 p.m.
The Spaniard from the Lidl-Trek team Juan Pedro Lopez won the 3rd stage of the Tour of the Alps solo, contested in the cold. He won his very first victory and took the lead in the general classification to the detriment of Tobias Foss. Romain Bardet is fifth.
At 26 years old, Juan Pedro Lopez had never won a single professional race. It’s now done! The Spaniard from the Lidl-Trek team won the 3rd stage of the Tour of the Alps this Wednesday, which took place around Schwaz, in Austria, in winter weather (4°C). The Andalusian, who finished fifth on Monday during the 1st stage, took his chance in the ascent of Pillberg (3.2km at 10% average), 26 kilometers from the finish, while this stage had until then only been marked by the solo escape of Filippo Ganna. He joined Giulio Pellizzari, who had just accelerated and overtook Romain Bardet. The two men worked well together and seven kilometers from the line, on the second climb of Pillberg, Lopez accelerated again, and the Italian was unable to do anything.
Lopez: “One of the hardest days of my life on a bike”
The Lidl-Trek runner won alone, 22 seconds ahead of his friend. The peloton of favorites, led by the leader of the general classification Tobias Foss, but also Romain Bardet and Aurélien Paret-Peintre, arrived 38 seconds after the winner, which allows Lopez to don the leader’s green jersey, now with 31 seconds ahead of the Norwegian. “It’s an extraordinary day for me, because it’s my first professional victory,” Lopez said. But it was a shit day for everyone, because we started with rain and 4°C. It was one of the hardest days of my life on a bike. We started with a goal, which was not to be cold, but it was impossible. In the end, I changed my objective, I tried to win the stage. At first I didn’t feel good, I couldn’t feel my hands. But in the end, I felt good in my legs, which is the most important thing, right? ” Thursday, the 3rd stage promises to be even more difficult, with two first category climbs, but the weather should be milder.
TOUR OF THE ALPS
Ranking of the 3rd stage (Schwaz-Schwaz, 124.8km) – Wednesday April 17, 2024
1- Juan Pedro Lopez (ESP/Lidl-Trek) in 3h16’11
2- Giulio Pellizzari (ITA/VF Group – Bardiani CSF – Faizane) at 22″
3- Tobias Foss (NOR/Ineos Grenadiers) at 38″
4- Romain Bardet (FRA/DSM Firmenich PostNL) at 38″
5- Aurélien Paret-Peintre (FRA/Décathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) at 38″
…
General ranking (after 3 out of 5 stages)
1- Juan Pedro Lopez (ESP/Lidl-Trek) in 11h22’34
2- Tobias Foss (NOR/Ineos Grenadiers) at 31″
3- Ben O’Connor (AUS/Décathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) at 45″
4- Antonio Tiberi (ITA/Bahrain-Victorious) at 48″
5- Romain Bardet (FRA/DSM Firmenich PostNL) at 48″
…
