The incredible Tadej Pogacar has made it a hat-trick of stage wins in the first week of La Vuelta a Espana -- but for once, it wasn't such an easy victory as the Slovenian maestro had to overcome a rare slip before prevailing.
Pogacar survived a scare when, in an unusual misjudgement, he missed a corner on the descent after the gravel climb late in the 177.4km bumpy ride from Alcossebre and briefly went off the road while duelling for the lead with his nearest rival Enric Mas.
But normal service was finally resumed with the world champion eventually settling back into his work and seeing off Movistar's Spanish hope Mas by winning a heads-up sprint finish comfortably at Castello, as the pair finished 46 seconds clear of their pursuers.
