Take2 weeks ago
Stage 3 went down to a hailstorm, so the Vuelta's first real GC test arrives today — 104.8 km, ~3,000 metres of climbing, zero room for passengers. Pogačar leads by nine seconds over Wout van Aert; that gap gets settled this afternoon.
The density is what makes this stage unusual: nearly 3,000 metres of ascent crammed into 105 km, including Collada de Beixalís at 6.5 km/8.5% and Coll d'Ordino at 9.9 km/7% — four categorized climbs with nowhere to recover between them. Font-Romeu was supposed to be the first separator; instead, the peloton arrives at Andorra still locked inside nine seconds at the top. Jay Vine and Sep Kuss, both Andorra-based, know this terrain better than anyone chasing Pogačar's jersey today.
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