There breakaway group was made up of Xabier Isasa, Tobias Bayer,
Diego Uriarte, Sinuhe Fernandez, Julen Arriola-Bengoa.
The only categorised climb of the day, the San Martin Unx
(4km at 3.4%), came early in the stage. The break crested the climb with a gap
close to three minutes, their largest advantage of the day.
However, as the race progressed, the peloton (largely led by
Soudal – Quick-Step and INEOS Grenadiers) began to reel them back in. At one
point, the gap dropped to 1'20", raising the possibility of an early
catch. Yet with 40 kilometres to go, the advantage has stretched again slightly
to around 2 minutes.
The first real bit of action came when Mauro Schmid tried to
open a gap to the peloton with around 20km to go. But could the breakaway hang
on?
With less than 5km to go, Isasa tried to go solo, and the gap started to go out once again to the bunch. With 2.7km to go, Victor Campenaerts went down in a nasty crash that disrupted the peloton further.
Then, INEOS came to the front and started to power forward, and Isasa was swallowed into the group. And so, as predicted, it came down to a sprint.
Caleb Ewan was in a perfect position at the front with his new team, before Intermarche also tried to get involved. But Caleb Ewan was unstoppable, with a perfect lead out, he secured his second win of his INEOS career.