With 4,000 meters of elevation gain, the third stage of the Catalan stage race lived true to its designation of mountain stage. The peloton faced a challenging climb to La Molina with two first-category cols and one hors category. Seven riders launched an attack early in the race but were caught before the last climb.

The peloton stayed together for the first few steep kilometres of the final climb, but with four kilometres to go, it was Evenepoel who launched the first attack. Roglic didn't give in and stayed in the world champion's wheel. The pair rode away from the competition at a blistering pace. In the last kilometre, Evenepoel picked up the pace again, and Roglic could not prevent his opponent from winning the stage. He fought for every metre and will start the fourth stage in the leader's jersey.

"It was a pretty tough stage", Roglic said. "It was close, but I am happy to have kept the leader's jersey. Remco was super strong and deserved to win today. At the end of the stage, I didn't have the best legs, but I could still follow him. Yesterday's final climb was maybe a bit too short, but today's was too long. Still, I can live with my performance. Friday's stage will probably be the next big test. I will give everything I have. I must keep in mind that I am still busy getting back in shape after my injury. I am happy with the way things are going, but at the same time, I have to be happy with any result. I will continue to give everything, no matter what, every time."

Sports director Marc Reef described the third stage. "We saw another strong team performance today. Our team took control in the early stages. Ultimately, Soudal-QuickStep took control and made it clear that they also wanted to win the stage. Together with Sepp Kuss, Primoz was well positioned in the group of favourites. When Evenepoel attacked, Primoz was able to follow. Considering where he came from, that's a good sign. Evenepoel was the better rider today. We are going to have an exciting last part of this race. Even though we are focused on winning this race, we are already anticipating the Giro d'Italia. Considering Primoz's ongoing recovery process, the signals he sends here are super good. We still have some work to do, but we are on the right track."