Jufré Takes Over Murcia Lead

Josep Jufré's third-placed finish on stage three of the Tour of Murcia moved him to the top of the general classification as Robert Hunter withdrew halfway through the day after receiving the news his wife had gone into labour.

Hunter, of Garmin-Transitions, had led the race after sprinting to victory in the opening two stages but rushed to be with his spouse after learning the arrival of his second child was imminent.

That news blew the race wide open and it was Astana rider Jufré who took full advantage. Despite ending the day behind eventual stage winner Luke Roberts (Milram) and Vacansoleil's Sergey Lagutin, Jufré now holds the advantage over Roberts at the top of the standings.

Team Sky's Bradley Wiggins had began the day five seconds behind Hunter and must have been feeling fresh as he was among a group of 10 riders who tested the waters early in the race.

That attack was quickly chased down by Team RadioShack but four riders including Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil), Michal Kwiatkowski (Caja Rural), Jan Barta (NetApp) and Marcel Barth (German Team) were allowed to break away soon after and had built up a lead of nine minutes on the peloton by the time they passed the 50km mark.

Enduro Racing's Alexandre Blain had looked lively over the first two days and made his presence felt again as he headed out on his own to try and breach that gap soon after it had developed. Blain's move proved to no avail however as RadioShack - this time with the help of Garmin-Transitions and Rabobank - hauled him back after around 30km.

With the news Hunter was out of the equation, the peloton stepped up their chase and by the time the leading quartet had made it over the category 1 climb up the Alto de Espuña, their advantage had all-but dissipated.

The bunch was brought together before the day's final ascent up the Alto de Collando Bermejo but further attacks were soon to come thick and fast.

Vacansoleil's Wouter Poels was awarded the Marco Pantani trophy after crossing that summit in first place, and he was joined by team-mate Rob Ruijgh, Jufré and Stefan Denifl (Cervélo) on the steep descent as the quartet made their bid for glory just 6km from the finish.

Those four riders held on until the final kilometre but were eventually swept up ahead of a third consecutive bunch sprint. This time it was Roberts who proved too strong for his rivals, powering over the line ahead of Lagutin and the resolute Jufré.

Stage three result:

1 - Luke Roberts - (AUS) - Milram - (4:16:47)
2 - Sergey Lagutin - (UZB) - Vacansoleil - (same time)
3 - Josep Jufré - (ESP) - Astana - (same time)
4 - Denis Menchov - (RUS) - Rabobank - (same time)
5 - Andreas Klöden - (GER) - RadioShack - (same time)
6 - Steven Kruijswijk - (NED) - Rabobank - (same time)
7 - Stefan Denifl - (AUT) - Cervélo - (same time)
8 - Michel Kreder - (NED) - Garmin - (same time)
9 - Bradley Wiggins - (ENG) - Team Sky - (same time)
10 - José Herrada - (ESP) - Caja Rural - (same time)

Overall standings after stage three:

1 - Josep Jufré - (ESP) - Astana - (12:52:39)
2 - Luke Roberts - (AUS) - Milram - (same time)
3 - Frantisek Rabon - (CZE) - HTC-Columbia - (same time)
4 - Rob Ruygh - (NED) - Vacansoleil - (same time)
5 - Thomas Rohregger - (AUT) - Milram - (same time)
6 - Tomasz Marczynski - (POL) - CCC - (same time)
7 - Wout Poels - (NED) - Vacansoleil - (same time)
8 - Matteo Carrara - (ITA) - Vacansoleil - (same time)
9 - Pieter Weening - (NED) - Rabobank - (same time)
10 - Sergey Lagutin - (UZB) - Vacansoleil - (+5)