Favorites for stage 3 Vuelta a España 2023 | Andorra a micro state? You can call it a mountain state!

Easy entry? Not in the Vuelta! After two chaotic days in and around the city of Barcelona, the peloton is already heading towards two thousand meters on the third day, with two serious climbs at the end of the stage. IDLProCycling.com makes sure you know everything about the upcoming stage!

In total, the third stage of the Vuelta is 158.5 kilometers long, but it is structured quite differently from, for example, the punchy stage that the riders faced on Sunday. This time we start in Súria, a small town of about 5,000 inhabitants located exactly in the middle between Barcelona and Andorra. Andorra is the micro state where we will arrive on the third stage.

Anyone who has ever been to Andorra knows one thing: turn left or right somewhere, and the road goes uphill, so there's no way around it—we will gain considerable elevation in this Pyrenees stage. But first, of course, the approach from Súria, which is 107 kilometers long and contains no categorized climbs.

However, in the opening 35 kilometers, riders face two uncategorized hills that shouldn't be overlooked. Each hill stretches for six to seven kilometers with a grade of four percent and are not to be underestimated. Following these initial challenges, the peloton will speed along flat Spanish roads towards Andorra. After crossing into the country, an intermediate sprint awaits the riders 10 kilometers later, situated a thousand meters above sea level and just before they tackle the first major climb of this year's Vuelta a España.

Stretching 8.9 kilometers, the Coll de Ordino boasts an average gradient of 5.1 percent—though this figure can be deceiving. The penultimate kilometer descends, while the ascent for the first half of the climb exceeds a seven percent gradient. Overall, it serves as a fitting warm-up climb for the riders, and it's worth noting that bonus seconds are up for grabs at the summit.

Once we reach the top, we immediately start a 13-kilometer descent towards the base of the day's final obstacle: the climb to Arinsal. This climb could very well become the first "giant-killer" of this Vuelta, as it presents a serious challenge for the riders' legs and lungs.

The stats indicate a length of 8.3 kilometers at a 7.7 percent gradient. The climb starts off relatively gently with a one-kilometer section at a 4.9 percent gradient, but after that, it never flattens out. With gradients between seven and eight percent, we reach the steepest sections three kilometers from the finish, which are consistently marked in black in the route book. Many riders will be familiar with this climb, as part of the peloton resides in Andorra and some others have stayed there before. For example, Remco Evenepoel went to Andorra for high-altitude training before the start of the race (which he also documented on video), while riders like Robert Gesink, Sepp Kuss, Enric Mas, and more recently Thymen Arensman live there.

Climbs
137.1 km: COLL DE ORDINO (8.9 km at 5.1%)
158.5 km: ARINSAL (8.3 km at 7.7%)

Times
Start: 1:27 p.m.
Finish: around 5:30 p.m.

Nothing is as unpredictable as the weather in Andorra. At the start in Súria, the riders seem to be able to enjoy a well-deserved sunny day with temperatures at 28 degrees Celsius, but by the time they arrive in Arinsal, it will be half as warm. Rain is not expected at that time, but the wind seems to be against the riders throughout the day.

After two days of chaos, we should finally get some racing, don't you think? Everyone had expected the rankings to settle into some logical order after two chaotic stages in Barcelona, but nothing could be further from the truth. Especially at the lower end, due to the neutralization in stage two, there hasn't been much sorting, which means that riders who would normally get some leeway might get less this time.

The general classification riders are given the benefit of the doubt, with explosive climbers Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) leading the way. Evenepoel was furious after the team time trial and can channel that aggression into a stage win, something he seemed to aim for on Sunday as well. Roglic, on the other hand, took a fall in the second stage, but this finish also suits him; the Jumbo-Visma rider has won several stages like this in the Vuelta before.

Teammate Jonas Vingegaard prefers it a bit tougher, as does Andorra-based Enric Mas of Movistar, UAE workhorse Joao Almeida, and also Geraint Thomas of INEOS Grenadiers—who is never to be discounted. Juan Ayuso couldn't show much in 'his' Barcelona due to circumstances and will likely also be at the start line with a touch of nervous anticipation, while Aleksandr Vlasov of BORA-hansgrohe has already shown good form leading up to the Vuelta.

Other GC contenders like Thymen Arensman (INEOS), Santiago Buitrago, Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious), Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ), Cian Uijtdebroeks (BORA-hansgrohe), Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost), Romain Bardet, Max Poole (DSM-firmenich), Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa Samsic), and Eddie Dunbar (Jayco AlUla) would normally come up short, but in the so-far utterly unpredictable Vuelta, you never know.

The breakaway also has a real chance of success, as we've often seen in the past in the Tour of Spain before the first mountain stage. Names that quickly come to mind include Lennard Kämna (BORA-hansgrohe), Rein Taaramäe (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Marc Soler (UAE-Team Emirates), and Jesús Herrada (Cofidis)—experienced stage hunters who know how to handle such a stage.

Other guys who could well slide along are David de la Cruz (Astana), Filippo Zana (Jayco AlUla), Rui Costa (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Jason Osborne (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroën) and Juan Pedro López (Lidl-Trek), while from a Nederbelgisch perspective we will keep a close eye on Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious), Bauke Mollema (Lidl-Trek), Kobe Goossens (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto-Dstny) and Steff Cras (TotalEnergies).

Top favorites: Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and Lennard Kämna (BORA-hansgrohe)
Outsiders: Jonas Vingegaard, Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma), Jesús Herrada (Cofidis) and Juan Ayuso (UAE-Team Emirates)
Longshots: Joao Almeida (UAE-Team Emirates), Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers), Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto-Dstny), Aleksandr Vlasov (BORA-hansgrohe), Enric Mas (Movistar), Kobe Goossens (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) and David de la Cruz (Astana Qazaqstan team).