Jonathan hangs onto jersey

Jonathan manages to hang onto his Special Sprints Jersey on today's third stage of the Volta a Catalunya. The team took control of the early parts of the stage, and Jonathan successfully grabbed all three points in the first sprint. Good work. After that, Daniel Sesma did well to get into the break of the day, but of course it didn't last. Xavier Tondo and 'Purito' were a level above the rest today and came in 1:20 ahead of a 19-man strong group, containing most of the favourites, including Igor and Iván. The rest of the guys were all more than 15 minutes in arrears. Even so, Alvaro expressed his contentment after the stage: "It was a hard day. The first objective of the day was to defend Castroviejo's jersey. He did very well yesterday, and we had to help him. We took responsibility and contolled the first kilometres, and we grabbed the three points in the first sprint. This made sure we'll be on the podium for another day. Later on, we got Sesma into the break. Many teams went for the win today, and for the GC, so the road turned to a battlefield. 'Purito' Rodríguez showed his strength and intentions. Other teams tried to do the same, something which resulted in a very demanding race. I'm very pleased with my riders' performances though. Everyone is learning, and we managed to put Iván and Igor in the front group. On such a hard day, the youngsters felt it, but they're impressive. Castroviejo yesterday, today Sesma. It's necessary to value our performance in the right circumstances, and the fact is that we've done well on these three stages."