Stage 3 Highlights | Mediterranean Epic 2021 - Castellón (ESP)

Sam Gaze and Ramona Forchini have been the fastest in the longest stage of the Mediterranean Epic 2021. 93 km that have served to completely overturn the general classification, both men and women. The 93 km with more than 1,800 meters of climbing had a bit of everything: tarmac sections, smooth tracks, long rocky sections and fun trails. The Austrian Daniel Geismayr (Trek Pirelli) and the Italian Chiara Teocchi (Italian team) started the day with the leaders' jersey, but they would not be able to keep it. In the men's category, the first long ascent of the day and, above all, the first singletrack descent, served to create a great selection in that large group of leaders. At first all the favourites held together, but it was only the beginning of the wear process that would end up breaking the race. In the last part, Sam Gaze, Luca and Daniele Braidot stood out from the rest. Ahead of 7 kilometers of flat road to the finish line, on an ideal terrain for the Gaze itself. The three bikers understood each other perfectly and Sam Gaze took a stage victory that once again places him in the forefront of world MTB news. Daniele Braidot is the new leader of the overall, with his brother Luca Braidot just 2 seconds away. Geismayr, until then leader, moves to 3rd place 30 seconds behind the green jersey. In the women's category, few could predict what was going to happen in this queen stage. The day began with the dominance of Chiara Teocchi, the solid leader so far, who counted the two stages by her victories. In the last part of the race, the bike-marathon world champion Ramona Forchini brought out her best adaptation to the long distance and progressed little by little until she reached the lead and stood out alone. She entered the finish line as the winner of the day and managed to turn the general standings upside down. Teocchi was having a bad day, at a distance to which she is not used to it, and she would end up giving up almost 9 minutes, becoming second overall, but already more than 7 minutes behind the Swiss. Martina Berta and Greta Seiwald completed the podium of the day. Tomorrow the race will face its last stage, starting and finishing in Oropesa del Mar. A shorter and more explosive day of 48 kilometers where the new winners of the Mediterranean Epic will be decided.

Check out the highlights from the third stage of the Mediterranean Epic 2021 in Castellón (ESP).

Stage 3 - Results

Men:
1. Sam Gaze (NZL) - 03:27:37h
2. Luca Braidot (ITA) +00:01min
3. Daniele Braidot (ITA) +00:01min

Women:
1. Ramona Forchini (SUI) 04:03:15h
2. Martina Berta (ITA) +01:19min
3. Greta Seiwald (ITA) +04:36min