Valverde hits back

ALEJANDRO Valverde bounced back from the disappointment of losing the overall lead in the Tour of Catalonia overnight by winning the third stage at the top of La Molina yesterday. The Spaniard and his Movistar teammates were handed a one-minute penalty after it was ruled that one of them had been illegally pushed by another during the team time trial on Tuesday. Valverde jumped ahead of a group of leading riders in the final climb yesterday to beat Ireland’s Dan Martin (Quick Step Floors), with Briton Adam Yates (Orica Scott) coming home in third position. American Tejay van Garderen, who ended the stage in eighth place, took the overall lead from his BMC teammate, Ben Hermans, after the Belgian failed to sustain the pace in the last climb, a 5.6 km ascent at an average 5.6% gradient. – Reuters