emirates7 - Italian rider Filippo Baroncini took an excellent second-place finish on stage 3 of the Vuelta Asturias, with the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider getting better with every passing race day.

The Vuelta Asturias is only Baronconi’s second stage race since making his comeback from injury last month. It had been a long road to recovery for the rouleur, who suffered serious injuries in a high-speed crash at last year’s Tour de Pologne. But over half a year on from that incident, Baroncini is returning to his former level, with a win not looking far away for the 25-year-old.

Clearly still packing a tidy sprint, Baroncini brought home the peloton on stage 3, with the day’s victory taken by Edgar David Cadena (Team Storck-MRW Bau). The Mexican held on from the breakaway to take an impressive win in the Asturias region.

As for Baroncini, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man survived the day’s tough climbs in fine shape, and alongside his teammate Adrià Pericas, finished in a reduced group that crossed the line just 26 seconds after Cadena. The result ensures Pericas will head into Sunday’s final stage in second place overall, just 31 seconds down on the race lead of Nairo Quintana (Movistar).

Reflecting on his performance after the race, Baroncini said, “For sure it was not an easy race, especially for me. There was a long, hard climb, and 3,200m of elevation today. In the past days I had a really good feeling and this gave me confidence, so I was already happy with that, because you see the race I had until now, this is exactly what I was looking for.

"Today, the plan was to go all in for the victory, because if I could pass all the climbs then the finish was perfect for me. The team was perfect, they made a super good job to control from the second part of the race.”