The third stage of the Giro della Valle d'Aosta is won in a sprint by Ecuadorian Pablo Ramirez (UAE), second in the general classification. "The Giro ends tomorrow and we will continue to attack", says the young rider already "satisfied with today's performance". And he smiles with satisfaction when asked to confirm his signature on a "pro" contract with Movistar. "No confirmation until the end of the year. Movistar or another team", he says with a big grin, confident in deflecting common gossip. He comes from Quito, the "city center" and to train he needs "fifty minutes just to get out of traffic". A sacrifice, in short. His family follows him from a distance, his father a military man and "all the sacrifices made to send me to race in Europe", where the dream continues today.

A battle between the two sides of South America is underway this year at Valle d'Aosta. From the Pacific to the Atlantic. On the double-digit gradient finish of Saint Christophe, Brazilian Henrique Bravo confirms the talent he showed at the Giro Next Gen. A generous type, he gives the kids the box with "his" yellow socks, signs autographs. He arrived in Europe two years ago, an only child of parents now retired (who follow him when they can) after a lifetime spent working in the footwear sector. His mother speaks only Portuguese, but she is well organized, translator in hand for small daily information.

It's a Giro della Valle d'Aosta "based on tactics", says Irishman O'Brien, already a protagonist a year ago and today's MVP, if only for attempting the move by attacking from a distance on a day with temperatures around 35 degrees, narrow roads, endless hairpin turns and the final climb of over 17 kilometers. In the breakaway first, then chasing the two classification leaders, he doesn't give up even in the final sprint "in which I tried to survive".

THE RACE. There are 108 athletes at the start from Saint Christophe on a decidedly very hot morning. The town is located a few kilometers from the capital Aosta and offers a panorama that extends over an important slice of the Valley with peaks above three thousand meters.

The first KOM is placed at Doues, a 3.2 km climb with an average gradient of 7.9% and sections at 11.8%. Giacomo Rosato (Bahrain Victorious) takes it, opening the way for his teammate and polka dot jersey wearer Kasper Borremans who competes for the sector classification with Frenchman Gustave Blanc (Red Bull) who started with the white jersey of best young rider (born in 2007) confirmed at the finish.

The day's breakaway takes shape with a group of seventeen men, and tactics suggest that the classification leaders are not among them. At the Verrogne KOM the gap of the yellow jersey group is two minutes and five seconds.

The Saint Christophe sprint catch is won by Liam O'Brien (Lidl) over Cristian Remelli (General Store) and Finn O'Brien (PicNic). The race heats up. There's the Jeanceyaz to climb, almost six kilometers, average gradient 8% with sections at 13.2%. Merciless heat, Irishman O'Brien already a protagonist a year ago, aims for personal performance and with the heat it seems like a suicidal attack. There's the Saint Barthelemy to climb, a full 17.2 kilometers, a merciless climb with gradients at 11.8%. Meanwhile, the initial breakaway is reabsorbed. The Soudal team of yellow jersey wearer Henrique Bravo sets the pace, with Mexican (from San Marino) Said Cisneiros pulling. O'Brien struggles, suffers from the heat, but still has over a minute's advantage when, six km from the summit, the battle between Brazilian yellow jersey Henrique Bravo and Ecuadorian Pablo Ramirez begins behind him. Between the two there are 28 seconds in the general classification. Three kilometers from the top Ramirez and Bravo surge past O'Brien who tries not to lose contact with the two leaders by getting on their wheel (but without immediate success). Bravo takes the Saint Barthelemy KOM. Meanwhile, the pair formed by German Max Bock (Red Bull), second in the general classification at sixteen seconds and Briton Jones Buck (Bourg en Brasse) also chase behind them. O'Brien carves the descent at 90 km/h with the expectation of rejoining the Ramirez-Bravo tandem (and this time successfully). The two rivals for the yellow jersey earn applause in a gesture of fair play for a water bottle exchange performed like acrobats, downhill and in a curve (for the record, it's Ramirez who passes it to Bravo). The descent ends in the town of Nus ten km from the finish, while Bock and Buck are one minute and 18 seconds back.

At Saint Christophe the sprint begins at two hundred meters. Ramirez drops Bravo and O'Brien in the final meters and takes home two seconds useful for the general classification. German Bock (Red Bull, fifth at 48 seconds) loses second place in the general classification and slips to third position one minute and two seconds ahead of Belgian Driesen (Lotto) winner yesterday at Forte di Bard (this year's winner of the Ronde de l'Isard and with a second place at the Fleche des Ardennes). First Italian Tommaso Bosio (General Store), ninth overall with a gap of six minutes and 47 seconds. Tenth Alessandro Cattani (Technipes) at seven minutes and five seconds. Tomorrow the final stage, just under one hundred kilometers with finish up to Breuil Cervinia, a classic for the Giro della Valle d'Aosta. And it will be another duel between South Americans.

complete classifications in the attachment