"I can thank my teammates, they all did a very good job of keeping me in front until the last three kilometres," Ayuso continues, with Alpecin-Deceuninck's Jasper Philipsen taking the win in the sprint. "As soon as I passed that limit, I braked and stayed in the back to stay safe."
Holding a notable 22-second lead over
Jonas Vingegaard, Ayuso is quietly confident about his chances of overall race victory. "Wearing the leader's jersey is very special, everyone congratulates you, and you have the right to a little more respect in the peloton. It's a good feeling, and I hope I can keep it until the end. It's going to get harder and harder, there are some really tough stages and some tricky ones. It won't be easy, but we'll do our best," he concludes.