tour de san luis, stage 3.

alberto contador (saxo bank) took the summit finish at the stage 3 finish in mirador del potrero.  levi leipheimer (omega pharma-quickstep) was able to hang onto contador’s wheel as the duo passed daniel diaz (san luis somos todos) and vincenzo nibali (liquigas-cannondale).

earlier in the 168km stage, tomas metcalfe (carmin-prio) and gregory duarte (uruguay) broke off the front towards the first kom – the category 3 climb of la florida.  renato dos santos (brazil) attacked from the peloton at the foot of the climb in pursuit of the duo.  he was 40 seconds ahead of the group, and 2:30 behind the break.  he was able to bridge at the crest – the trio pushed 3:40 ahead of the peloton.  60km marked the day’s first category 1 climb, the alto de nogoli.  the break lead by over 6 minutes as they began the 25.5km climb – they increased their lead to 8 minutes, which stirred up the big teams in the peloton.  as the trio were climbing the final 4km of the category 1 mountain, a select group of 20 riders broke off the front.

saxo bank took charge of the descent, and a group of 60 was able to come together.  jorge giacinti (san luis somos todos) took the intermediate sprint from the bunch.  angelo pagani (colnago-csf inox) launched a solo attack before the last category 1 climb of the day.  50km to go, he had a lead of 1:45.  pagani eventually flatted inside 18km and was passed by the 60-man group.

contador is currently the gc leader, followed by leipheimer 4 seconds back, and stegan schumacher (christina watches-ofone) 19 seconds back.

photo from cycling news.