Dan Martin's excellent start to the Vuelta Espana reached new heights on Thursday with victory on stage 3 to Vinuesa.
After a cagey, uphill final few kilometres, the Team Israel Start-Up Nation rider broke for home to take the line ahead of Primoz Roglic (Team Jumbo Visma) and Richard Carapaz (Team Ineos Grenadiers).
Martin's 10-bonus seconds for the stage victory move him up to 2nd on general classification, five-seconds off Roglic.
Victory on stage 3 followed back-to-back 3rd place finishes for the 34-year old on this year's Vuelta.
It's his fourth Grand Tour stage win, and second in Spain after he won the mountainous stage 9 in the 2011 renewal.
'What a day, what a finish! Time to open a bottle' 🍾@DanMartin86 sprints to victory on Stage 3! 👏
🇪🇸 #LaVuelta20
📺 Eurosport 2
📱💻 Uninterrupted coverage: https://t.co/v9sW4j8Vyw pic.twitter.com/5LBwnCJvH7— Eurosport (@eurosport) October 22, 2020
An emotional Martin said afterwards, "I've come so close this year to winning. And I just really wanted to win a stage for this team as they’ve been so good to me. The sponsors have supported us all through Covid.