Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) won the stage 3 time trial at Vuelta a San Juan, Tuesday and moves into the overall GC lead.

The 20-year-old put in a commanding performance to beat second-place Filippo Ganna (Italy) by 32 seconds. Ganna, current record holder for individual pursuit, is contracted to Ineos in 2020 but racing in Argentina for his national team. Oscar Sevilla (Team Medellin) placed third.

Evenepoel’s win places him atop of the GC standings, 32 seconds ahead of Ganna. Overnight race leader Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates) lost over five minutes on the stage as he re-charges the engines for the sprint stages to come.

“It’s nice to be atop the overall standings, but we don’t have to lose our focus, as there are still four more stages to go,” said Evenepoel.

The 15.5km test finished at Punta Negra Dam, and after a flat start featured two punchy climbs. Most riders used road rather than time trial bikes in a bid to ease travel logistics at the Argentinian race.

“Today I gained time on the flat, where I could sustain a strong pace, but also on the climb, where I accelerated,” said Evenepoel. “This means I had good legs, which is a nice feeling so early in the season.”

With three of the four remaining stages likely to end with sprints, the GC will come down to the summit finish on Alto Colorado on stage 5, Thursday. The 2,500m summit will test Evenepoel’s climbing legs to the utmost.

“I’m not thinking about winning the GC, just taking it one day at a time, continue helping the team whenever and wherever I can, and we’ll just see at the end of the week where that takes me,” he said.

Stage 3 results:

Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck-Quick-Step):0:19:16 Filippo Ganna (Italy): +0:00:32 Oscar Sevilla (Team Medellin): +0:01:08

GC after stage 3: