Michael Matthews takes charge on stage three of Vuelta a Espana

Orica-GreenEdge's Michael Matthews edges out Daniel Martin for the stage win and to take the overall lead in the Vuelta a Espana

Michael Matthews wins Vuelta a Espana 2014 stage three

(Image credit: Graham Watson)

Australian Michael Matthews (Orica-GreenEdge) came off the heels of Dan Martin (Garmin-Sharp) in the final metres of the uphill finish to Arcos de la Frontera to win Vuelta a España stage three today. With the win and bonus seconds, he took over the race leader's red jersey from Alejandro Valverde (Movistar).

"We had to take control from the start because we had a good chance for me to win a stage," Matthews said. "As you could see, none of my team-mates were left at the finish because they worked so hard."

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Gregor Brown

Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.