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Orica’s Nielsen carries off third stage of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana

Ben Perry in day's breakaway

February 3, 2017
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Magnus Cort Nielsen (Orica-Scott) avoided a sprint crash as the field contested Friday’s third stage of Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana to take the win. Canadian Ben Perry rode in the day’s breakaway. Greg van Avermaet (Belgium/BMC) keeps the yellow jersey.

Stage 3 was the first opportunity for the fast-twitch fellows, with a 161-km route that included some ripples and an uncategorized climb smack dab in the middle.


Soon after the flag in Canals, a sextet of escapees formed. Canadian Ben Perry and his American teammate Tyler Williams represented Israel Cycling Academy in the breakaway.


Perry was second through the day’s only intermediate sprint at Carcaixant 33-km into the race. Sprinter Nacer Bouhanni’s Cofidis team and race leader Greg van Avermaet’s BMC paced the peloton and kept the gap under 3:00. With 54-km to go and the wind whipping the course, the fugitives’ lead was under a minute.

Twenty-five kilometres remaining, Dutch fugitive Jos van Emben (LottoNL-Jumbo) lit out on his own, but surrendered 13-km later. Dimension Data moved up to the front of the bunch. A couple of digs disrupted the sprinters’ colour-blocks from organizing.

A crash in the final straight strung things out. But it was Orica’s man Nielsen who found the path and the power to take the win, Bouhanni peeved with second. Israel Cycling Academy’s other Canadian Guillaume Boivin came 11th.

Saturday is the setting for the big GC showdown, the queen stage’s summit finish on Mas de la Costa, with gradients up to 22%.

2017 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana Stage 3
1) Magnus Cort Nielsen (Denmark/Orica-Scott) 3:49:02
2) Nacer Bouhanni (France/Cofidis) s.t.
3) Bryan Coquard (France/Direct Energie) +0:01
11) Guillaume Boivin (Canada/Israel Cycling Academy) s.t.
39) Hugo Houle (Canada/AG2R) +0:10
91) Ben Perry (Canada/Israel Cycling Academy) +0:23
105) Antoine Duchesne (Canada/Direct Energie) +0:34

2017 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana GC
1) Greg van Avermaet (Belgium/BMC) 9:17:13
2) Ben Hermans (Belgium/BMC) s.t.
3) Manuel Senni (Italy/BMC) +0:07