Deceuninck-QuickStep have come to the Vuelta a Espana with stage wins as their priority and substantial hope vested in Dutch champion Fabio Jakobsen for the bunch sprints, and he takes todayīs honour having just managed to hold off Sam Bennett in El Puig to cap off a superb team performance. His teammates played a vital role in his success, firstly by pacing him back to the bunch after he had been distanced on the dayīs only categorised climb. Once the young Dutchman was safely back in the peloton, Tom Declercq set about chasing down the two-man break of Jelle Wallays (Lotto-Soudal) and Jorge Cubero (Burgos-BH). Coming into the final 6km, Remi Cavagna went to the front, ostensibly to set the pace for Jakobsen, but the Frenchman got a gap and took full advantage of it, giving all he had for the next 4km, forcing Bennettīs Bora-Hansgrohe team to commit vital resources to reel him in. Crucially, this chase cost Bennett his key lead-out man, Shane Archbold.ADVERTISEMENT While Bennett had to negotiate his own way in the sprint, Jakobsen got the perfect lead-out from Zdenek Stybar and Max Richeze. He then just enough speed to make sure all that teamwork paid off. `We did a perfect lead-out. When it was my time I went, and we went full for the line,` said Jakobsen. `I threw the bike for the line and couldnīt see [who won] because I closed my eyes and Sam was close to me. I knew when I saw the guys from the team cheering.` Analysis: Jakobsen wasnīt the fastest in the sprint, but, set up perfectly by his teammates, he didnīt make any mistakes and, ultimately, that gave him the winning edge over Sam Bennett. It was impressive way to take his first Grand Tour victory and give himself an early present for his 23rd birthday, which falls on Saturday. Stage 3 - Sam Bennett smashes the sprint Stage 2 - Armee rides with heart Stage 1 - Lopez superb in opening team time trial
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