Euskaltel test sprint train in ENECO

Euskaltel gave it as good as they got in today's third stage of the ENECO Tour.

With a sprint finish widely anticipated, the Euskaltel riders hit the front en masse inside the final ten clicks to set up fast-man Juan José Lobato. Romain Sicard, Garikoitz Bravo, Rubén Pérez and Ioannis Tamouridis all did their utmost to set up the Andalusian, but the sinuous roads in the last three kilometres put paid to Euskaltel's and a whole bunch of other teams' chances as they disappeared off the front.

In the end it didn't even come down to a mass finish, as a four-man group from which Zdenek Stybar proved the fastest jumped clear of the peloton under the banner.

Lobato eventually trailed in 19th.

Results:

• (1, Zdenek Stybar (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), 4:14:00)
• 19, Juan José Lobato, 0:02
• 29, Ioannis Tamouridis, s.t.
• 68, Rubén Pérez, s.t.
• 76, Garikoitz Bravo, s.t.
• 78, Jon Aberasturi, s.t.
• 90, Romain Sicard, s.t.
• 151, Jure Kocjan, 1:05
• 156, Miguel Mínguez, s.t.

Photo: Iñaki Azanza