February 22/14 22:40 pm - Britton Still 2nd Overall at Vuelta Independence Nacional

Posted by Editoress on 02/22/14
 

Jure Kocjan of Team SmartStop won the third stage of the Vuelta Independencia Nacional, sprinting to the finish after catching the five man breakaway in the final stretch of the 136 kilometre stage from Samana to San Francisco de Macoris.

After racing a challenging day of racing, Team SmartStop was present in a group of about 20 riders, including Jure and team leader  yellow jersey holder Eric Marcotte, who chased down the lead group within the final 5 kilometres of the stage.

"It was not easy, but we raced smart today," said Jure, " the speed was high because of the crosswinds, I caught the first group and with 5 kilometres to go I decided I wanted to sprint, my legs felt okay."

It was a team effort that got Jure to the finish line in first place and Eric into 10th, not losing any time on his general classification position. Jure said: "The team did a good job in the final 3 kilometres so I won easily."

As Eric leads the Vuelta Independencia Nacional going into tomorrow's circuit stage, 104 kilometres in Santiago, there are six riders (including Rob Britton who is in 2nd place, 10 seconds back) all within one minute of his lead time so the race for the win is not over and Team SmartStop will still continue to defend the lead over the next five days of racing. Team SmartStop also sits on top of the Team classification after three stages.

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