03.09.2007/ Road world champion Paolo Bettini won todays third stage of the Vuelta a Espana. Bettini outsprinted Oscar Freire after an exiting battle in the hilly stage that went from Viveiro to Luarc.

The race was coloured by a breakaway group with Ángel Vallejo (Relax-GAM) , David de La Fuente (Saunier Duval) and Serafín Martínez (Karpin Galicia). The breakaway riders were caught on the final category 3 climb after more than 100 kilometers at the front. It was the Euskatel squad that worked hard to catch the escapees.

The Basque team was unlucky when Haimar Zubeldia crashed in the final part of the stage. Without the push coming from the orange-clad team, the favourites held back until the final uphill slope, with riders like Oscar Pereiro (Caisse d'Epargne) and Cadel Evans (Predictor-Lotto) playing major roles, but the sprinters appeared on the home stretch. Allan Davis (Discovery Channel) initiated the sprint, but he was overtaken by Paolo Bettini (Quickstep) . Oscar Freire (Rabobank) , who was riding right behind Bettini, tried to overtake the Italian racer but couldn’t find space to squeeze through and had to settle for second place and the gold jersey he will surely lose in Los Lagos de Covadonga, the first serious test for the overall favourites.

In the post race press conference Paolo Bettini explained part of the reason for his success today: "I wanted to win in the Vuelta, but I didn’t think I was going to be able to do it so quickly. Nevertheless, Barredo [teammate at Quickstep) explained to me what the finish in Luarca was like and told me it was good for me. That gave me confidence and my legs responded better than I thought at the end." Bettini’s win was the first in months: "I haven’t won since the Tour of California, but I'm a professional and I know that if you work hard, you'll get good results in the end. And that’s the way it worked out. Controversy with Freire? Not a bit. I spoke with him. We’re friends and we respect each other. I explained to him that I maintained a straight line in the sprint and I didn’t see him. There’s no way anyone can say I cut him off. It’s no big deal and our relationship continues being as good as it's always been." As for his further expectations for the Vuelta, Bettini says: "I want to finish the first two weeks of the Vuelta at least. There’s a chance I may also take part in some stages of the third week, but then I’ll abandone to rest up a little before the World Championship."

Results

Stage 3

1 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quickstep - Innergetic                    4.08.42 (36.912 km/h)
2 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank                                   
3 Allan Davis (Aus) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team                
4 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner                                  
5 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française des Jeux                           
6 René Mandri (Est) AG2r Prévoyance                                   
7 Xavier Florencio (Spa) Bouygues Telecom                             
8 Cadel Evans (Aus) Predictor - Lotto                                 
9 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas                                    
10 Daniel Moreno (Spa) Relax - Gam                                    
11 Samuel Sánchez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                           
12 Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                           
13 José Ángel Gómez Marchante (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir            
14 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Lampre - Fondital                            
15 Luis Perez Rodriguez (Spa) Andalucia - Cayasur                     
16 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne                            
17 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone             
18 David López (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                                 
19 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank                                       
20 Andrea Tonti (Ita) Quickstep - Innergetic                          
21 Igor Antón (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                               
22 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone           
23 Manuel Beltrán (Spa) Liquigas                                      
24 Lorenzo Bernucci (Ita) T-Mobile Team                               
25 Josep Jufré (Spa) Predictor - Lotto                                
26 Chris Horner (USA) Predictor - Lotto                               
27 Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Liquigas                                
28 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone             
29 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Française des Jeux                           
30 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole                          
31 Arkaitz Durán (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir                         
32 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner                               
33 Carlos Castaño (Spa) Karpin Galicia                                
34 Luis Leon Sanchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                           
35 Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Gerolsteiner                                    
36 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram                                       
37 Egoi Martinez (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team             
38 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team           
39 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne                            
40 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team         
41 David Herrero Llorente (Spa) Karpin Galicia                        
42 Ezequiel Mosquera Miguez (Spa) Karpin Galicia                      
43 Stéphane Goubert (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance                             
44 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC                                       
45 Carlos Barredo (Spa) Quickstep - Innergetic                        
46 Ludovic Turpin (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance                               
47 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saunier Duval - Prodir                      
48 Dionisio Galparsoro (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                      
49 David García (Spa) Karpin Galicia                                  
50 José Luis Rubiera (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team         
51 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC                                       
52 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Crédit Agricole                                 
53 Ángel Gómez Gómez (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir                     
54 Iker Camaño (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir                           
55 Andreas Klier (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                  
56 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir                    
57 Mauricio Alberto Ardila (Col) Rabobank                             
58 Jesús Hernández (Spa) Relax - Gam                                  
59 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team CSC                               
60 Elia Rigotto (Ita) Team Milram                                     
61 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance                                
62 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Lampre - Fondital                            
63 Wim Van Huffel (Bel) Predictor - Lotto                             
64 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team            
65 Inaki Isasi Flores (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                       
66 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Team CSC                                    
67 Alan Perez Lezaun (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                        
68 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team CSC                                   
69 Renaud Dion (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance                                  
70 Jose Ruiz Sanchez (Spa) Andalucia - Cayasur                     0.18
71 Sebastiaan Langeveld (Ned) Rabobank                                
72 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Rabobank                                     
73 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas                                  
74 Mario Aerts (Bel) Predictor - Lotto                                
75 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Team CSC                             0.28
76 Adam Hansen (Aus) T-Mobile Team                                    
77 Iñigo Cuesta (Spa) Team CSC                                        
78 Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Crédit Agricole                           
79 Xabier Zandio (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                               
80 José Luis Arrieta (Spa) AG2r Prévoyance                            
81 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC                                    
82 Julian Sanchez Pimienta (Spa) Relax - Gam                          
83 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Française des Jeux                           
84 Torsten Hiekmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                
85 Joost Posthuma (Ned) Rabobank                                      
86 Santiago Perez (Spa) Relax - Gam                                   
87 Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas                                   0.34
88 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas                                     
89 Jean-Marc Marino (Fra) Crédit Agricole                             
90 Scott Davis (Aus) T-Mobile Team                                    
91 Inigo Landaluze (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                          
92 Santos González (Spa) Karpin Galicia                               
93 Roy Sentjens (Ned) Predictor - Lotto                               
94 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - Fondital                             
95 David Loosli (Swi) Lampre - Fondital                               
96 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Gerolsteiner                             
97 André Greipel (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                  
98 Addy Engels (Ned) Quickstep - Innergetic                           
99 Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Gerolsteiner                                 
100 Imanol Erviti Ollo (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                         
101 Juan Olmo Menacho (Spa) Andalucia - Cayasur                       
102 Bingen Fernandez (Spa) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone          
103 Philip Deignan (Irl) AG2r Prévoyance                              
104 Patrick Calcagni (Swi) Liquigas                                   
105 Aitor Hernández (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                      0.49
106 Gustavo Domínguez (Spa) Karpin Galicia                            
107 Giuseppe Guerini (Ita) T-Mobile Team                           1.04
108 Morris Possoni (Ita) Lampre - Fondital                            
109 Bert Grabsch (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                  
110 Stef Clement (Ned) Bouygues Telecom                               
111 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Crédit Agricole                           
112 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Quickstep - Innergetic                   
113 Jorge Garcia Marin (Spa) Relax - Gam                              
114 Ángel Vallejo (Spa) Relax - Gam                                1.24
115 Stephan Schreck (Ger) T-Mobile Team                               
116 Martin Müller (Ger) Team Milram                                1.55
117 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Lampre - Fondital                        2.04
118 José Vicente Garcia (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                     2.08
119 Joan Horrach (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                               
120 Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone          
121 Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre - Fondital                          2.17
122 Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Quickstep - Innergetic                       
123 Andrea Moletta (Ita) Gerolsteiner                              2.19
124 Ruben Lobato Elvira (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir               0.01
125 Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun) Crédit Agricole                           3.38
126 Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Lampre - Fondital                            
127 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) AG2r Prévoyance                              
128 Jason McCartney (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team          
129 Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Karpin Galicia                              
130 Manuel Vazquez Huesco (Spa) Andalucia - Cayasur                   
131 Francisco Terciado Sacedo (Spa) Relax - Gam                       
132 Alberto Fernandez De La Puebla (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir    0.01
133 Christophe Brandt (Bel) Predictor - Lotto                      5.31
134 Jesus Rosendo Prado (Spa) Andalucia - Cayasur                     
135 Francisco Jose Martinez (Spa) Andalucia - Cayasur                 
136 Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Team CSC                                  
137 Nacor Burgos Rojo (Spa) Relax - Gam                               
138 Matej Jurco (Svk) Team Milram                                     
139 Pedro Horrillo Munoz (Spa) Rabobank                               
140 Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone         
141 Raúl García De Mateos (Spa) Relax - Gam                           
142 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram                                   
143 José Luis Carrasco (Spa) Andalucia - Cayasur                      
144 Geert Verheyen (Bel) Quickstep - Innergetic                       
145 Bart Dockx (Bel) Predictor - Lotto                                
146 Mickael Delage (Fra) Française des Jeux                           
147 Alberto Ongarato (Ita) Team Milram                                
148 Marco Velo (Ita) Team Milram                                      
149 Claudio Corioni (Ita) Lampre - Fondital                           
150 Erki Pütsep (Est) Bouygues Telecom                                
151 Vincent Jérôme (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                             
152 Christophe Kern (Fra) Crédit Agricole                             
153 Rony Martias (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                               
154 Theo Eltink (Ned) Rabobank                                        
155 Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                        
156 Manuel Ortega Ocana (Spa) Andalucia - Cayasur                     
157 Carlos Da Cruz (Fra) Française des Jeux                           
158 Cyrille Monnerais (Fra) Française des Jeux                        
159 Koldo Fernandez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                         
160 Tim Klinger (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                    
161 Markus Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                  
162 Dimitri Champion (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                           
163 Serafín Martínez Acevedo (Spa) Karpin Galicia                     
164 Javier Megias Leal (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir                   
165 Gustavo César (Spa) Karpin Galicia                                
166 Davide Vigano (Ita) Quickstep - Innergetic                        
167 Damien Monier (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone             
168 José Antonio Lopez (Spa) Andalucia - Cayasur                      
169 Francesco Chicchi (Ita) Liquigas                               8.16
170 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Team Milram                                  
171 Aurélien Clerc (Swi) Bouygues Telecom                             
172 Bert Roesems (Bel) Predictor - Lotto                              
173 Marc De Maar (Ned) Rabobank                                       
174 Angelo Furlan (Ita) Crédit Agricole                               
175 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Liquigas                                   
176 Sergio Paulinho (Por) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team          
177 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Team Milram                             
178 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Crédit Agricole                                
179 Ian McLeod (RSA) Française des Jeux                               
180 André Korff (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                   
181 Alexandre Usov (Blr) AG2r Prévoyance                              
182 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quickstep - Innergetic                           
183 Stéphane Augé (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone             
184 Bradley McGee (Aus) Française des Jeux                            
185 Maryan Hary (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone               
186 Jérémy Roy (Fra) Française des Jeux                               
187 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                     11.00

DNF Mathieu Claude (Fra) Bouygues Telecom