Kaden Groves Triumphs with Third Stage Win in Vuelta a Espana

Kaden Groves of Australia claimed his third stage victory in the Vuelta a Espana during Stage 17. The race concluded with a mass sprint finish on wet streets, with Czech Pavel Bittner and Belgium's Vito Braet securing second and third places, respectively. Australian Ben O'Connor maintained his overall lead.

Australia's Kaden Groves secured his third stage win of the Vuelta a Espana with a perfectly timed sprint in Stage 17 on Wednesday. Czech rider Pavel Bittner and Belgium's Vito Braet came second and third in a mass sprint finish on very wet streets.

Australian Ben O'Connor maintained his five-second overall lead ahead of Slovenian Primoz Roglic. Groves crossed the line in the port city of Santander, which hosted a Vuelta finish for the first time in over 20 years and a stage departure for the first time in a decade.

A leading group of four riders followed each other in the mountains of northwestern Spain into the mostly flat final stretch but lost time as none of them wanted to attempt a breakaway. The peloton cut into the lead as they passed through the city center and caught up within the leaders in the last kilometre.

(With inputs from agencies.)