Team Bulls Takes Double Victory in Stage 3 of the Andalucía Bike Race by Garmin

Simon Schneller, Urs Huber, Martin Frey, and Simon Stiebjahn entered the finish line together in Jaén to take the stage’s first two podium spots

The Andalucía Bike Race by Garmin says goodbye to Jaén with a memorable stage. Starting and finishing at the Fuentezuelas Sports Complex, the cyclists faced a day of 71.06 kilometers with 2,924 meters of elevation gain, which let them check off a very hard stage before the race moves to Córdoba.

The double victory of Team Bulls in the men's category concluded a busy stage that saw changes at the head of the race and several crashes that took out the race leaders. Urs Huber and Simon Schneller thus achieved their second victory in the Andalucía Bike Race by Garmin after winning the opening stage as well.

The main favorites for the stage victory positioned themselves from the start and reached the first aid station in two groups. Separated by only seconds, Huber and Schneller remained in the lead along with other riders, among them Tiago Ferreira, Wout Alleman and the leaders, Samuele Porro and Daniel Geismayr. In chase, the BUFF® Scott MTB Team racers were closing the gap.

The stage was complicated for several riders in the final section. Despite a crash, Tiago Ferreira was able to continue, while leader, Samuele Porro, failed to have the same luck and lost all chances at victory. Huber and Schneller seized the lead until Hans Becking and Jose Dias overtook them. An unfortunate mechanical problem for the BUFF® Scott MTB Team caused them to lose three minutes, and Huber and Schneller of Team Bulls took the lead again.

The finish line for the leaders was challenging in the final two kilometers by an untimely puncture for young Simon Schneller. Even so, he was able to reach the finish accompanied by his partner, Urs Huber, and also by his Team Bulls teammates, Martin Frey and Simon Stiebjahn. Martin Stosek - Kristian Hynek of the Canyon Northwave MTB Team finished third.

Urs Huber: "A lot happened in this stage. It was very hectic. We had mechanical problems while others had some crashes. In fact, my teammate, Simon, rode the last four kilometers with a rear flat. But we managed to get to the finish and regain the leaders' jersey. The key was not to make any mistakes.”

In the women's category, race leaders, Katazina Sosna and Stefanie Dohrn of Torpado Sudtirol, repeated their victory. Yesterday’s winners displayed their mighty power in a stage that they controlled from the start. Today’s win has enabled Sosna and Dohrn to extend and strengthen their lead in the Andalucía Bike Race by Garmin. Switzerland’s Irina Lutzelschwab and Sweden’s Jennie Stenerhag of ABRO-Knippcycling Schär Gärten came in second followed by Torpado RDR team riders, Constanza Fasolis and Greta Karasiovaite.

Stefanie Dohrn: "I love racing in pairs – it's very psychological. You have to ride together and complement your partner. It's normal that one or the other is stronger, but you have to work as a team. And today we did it. Racing with Katazina is great and we're going for broke.”

Today’s stage was the last one to take place in the province of Jaén before the race moves on to Córdoba. On Thursday the race will climb the Arroyo de la Gitana, a featured climb in the Andalucía Bike Race by Garmin since 2013. Cyclists will face 64 km and 1,694 meters of climbing.

STAGE 3 UCI Marathon Series Men’s classification

1 Urs Huber - Simon Schneller TEAM BULLS || 03:30:11

2 Martin Frey - Simon Stiebjahn TEAM BULLS || 03:30:12

3 Martin Stosek - Kristian Hynek Canyon Northwave MTB Team || 03:30:26

STAGE 3 UCI Marathon Series Women’s classification

1 Katazina Sosna - Stefanie Regina TORPADO SUDTIROL || 04:39:54

2 Irina Lutzelschwab - Jennie Stenerhag ABRO-Knippcycling Schär

Gärten || 04:42:28

3 Constanza Fasolis - Greta Karasiovaite Torpado RDR || 04:49:45