The final stage of the Ruta del Sol saw Juan Jose Lobato (Movistar) win the tough uphill sprint ahead of John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin) and Sylvain Chavanel (IAM Cycling). Chris Froome (Team Sky) was able to preserve his 1 second lead over Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) to win the race overall.
It was another productive day for Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung as they animated the racing by placing 2 riders in the 7 man break of the day. Songezo Jim and Merhawi Kudus both escaped from the peloton inside the first 15km of the stage.
The fugitives were able to push out an advantage of just under 3 minutes to the peloton. Lotto-Soudal and Tinkoff-Saxo kept the gap in check though as they had clear objectives for the finish. With 40km to race and a lead of just 30″, Merhawi attacked the break on a slight rise, pulling clear with Maciej Paterski (CCC Polsat) and Johnny Hoogerland (Team Roompot).
The trio drove as hard as they could but Movistar were furiously leading the charge from the peloton as well. Eventually Merhawi and his fellow escapees were reeled in with 15km to go. Attention then turned to Tyler Farrar for MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung as they looked to set the American up for the sprint. The final drag at over 15% gradient was just too tough for Tyler though as he was distanced in the final 200 meters.
Alex Sans Vega – Sports Director