AJ August powers to first pro win on Volta Comunitat Valenciana stage 3

AJ August (Ineos Grenadiers) claimed the first professional victory of his career after sprinting to victory from a group of four on stage 3 of the Volta Comunitat Valenciana. 

The 20-year-old American was part of a four-rider group that drew themselves clear from the peloton on a descent with around 20km remaining, and the fastest in the sprint to the line in San Vicente del Raspeig. 

The group pulled clear of the descent after a period of attacks following the Alto de Tibi climb, where both Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) tried their hand.

With his Ineos teammate Ben Turner in the peloton behind waiting for a potential sprint, August notably sat on in the front group, whilst Florian Vermeersch (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Ådne Holter (Uno-X Mobility), and Jonathan Vervenne (Soudal Quick-Step) worked to maintain the advantage over the chasing pack. 

In the end, August hit the front when it mattered most when the American launched his sprint with 200m remaining, holding off Ådne Holter and Florian Vermeersch, in second and third. Vervenne was fourth, and race leader Biniam Girmay (NSN) was fifth, winning the sprint from the peloton at 0:04.

Girmay remains the race leader, though Holtner now sits on the same time overall as the Eritrean in second.

Eight riders drew themselves clear, though it took a long distance for the Octet to form as one group.

The final 50km saw multiple crashes. The first one notably involved Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Iván Romeo (Movistar) and Cian Uijtdebroeks (Movistar), and the second featured Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates-XRG). 

The breakaway group started to splinter in composition on the categorised Puerto de Tibi, with Mattia Bais and Raul Pierna Garcia being the final riders remaining.

With 30km remaining following the Puerto de Tibi, Red Bull pushed the pace in the peloton with the breakaway caught, and attacks started to fly. Most notably, with 27km to go, Evenepoel himself tested the competition with a seated acceleration before Almeida launched a counterattack. 

Eventually, on a winding descent, Florian Vermeersch (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Andrew August (Ineos Grenadiers) pulled clear and were shortly joined by Ådne Holter (Uno-X Mobility).

Jonathan Vervenne (Soudal Quick-Step) managed to bridge across with 15km remaining, and their quartet’s advantage over the peloton, which still featured race leader Biniam Girmay, was around 0:10, which led NSN to lead the chase.

Vervenne opened up first with 600m remaining, with the peloton charging behind. In the end, August made the decisive strike with 200 metres remaining and held off Holter for victory. 

“I honestly didn’t expect it at all during the day,” August said after the finish to Cycling Pro Net. “With about 50 kilometres to go, the team told me it was time to go to the front and help bring the break back.” Later, once he was in the decisive move, he switched mindset. 

“From there, I didn’t really have a reason to ride because we had guys behind for the sprint.” He waited it out, then committed fully. “I took advantage of being fresh, sprinted from the back, and crossed the line first. It’s amazing.”