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American Quinn Simmons (Trek-Segafredo) surprised the sprinters by winning stage 3 of the Vuelta a San Juan at the Car Racetrack in Willicum.
Simmons, 21, attacked from a dwindling peloton inside the final kilometre, and then held off the charging sprint trains to take his first win of the season.
“I made a promise to the team this year and that was to win more races, because last year I didn’t win any,” Simmons told the media after the win. “I’m 100 percent better now.”
Read also: Vuelta a San Juan S2: Fabio Jakobsen first in lightning-fast finish
The win was Simmons’ first since 2021, when he took a stage and overall victory at the Tour de Wallonie in Belgium. But Tuesday’s victory came against top WorldTour pros like GC leader Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe), Fernando Gaviria (Movistar) and Peter Sagan (Total Energy).
The 170.9 km stage started and finished at the Autodromo de Willicum, an auto racetrack north of San Juan. The route seemed perfect for sprint trains – a flat start of 140 km followed by a gradual climb to the finish. But strikes and accidents delayed the push to the line in the action-packed finale.
With 5 km remaining Simone Bevilaqua (Iolo–Cometra) attacked, and soon after a crash in the peloton slowed the bunch, delaying the chase. Eventually, the group roared for life and made the catch inside 2 km to go, but the effort began to sting everyone’s legs. A lull inside 1 km allowed Simmons to begin his decisive move.
Read also: Bernal, Evenpoel, Sagan: hopes rise on sport’s biggest stars at Vuelta a San Juan
Max Riches (Team Argentina) chased the American out of the group. The early gap to Simmons looked to be in danger as Riches slowly clawed back space as the track turned into the final straight. When the sprinters opened up inside 200 meters to go both men appeared to be on target for a gallop. But Simmons stood out of the saddle and charged up the final strides to catch Riches and Bennett by a whisker.
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