Greig Leach

The penultimate stage of the 61st edition of the Ruta del Sol brought a cold wet day to add to the challenges of 199.8 kilometers and a very steep climb to end the stage. The early break for today was made up of nine riders from nine different teams. The group started to disintegrate at about 145 kilometers into the stage. At one point, as the break whipped through town, Simon Greschke (Giant-Alpecin), with Pieter Jacobs (Topsport Vlaanderen) on his wheel, looked around to discover that the rest of the group hadn't held his wheel. The pair decided it was too far to go it alone, so they sat up and waited for the others. At this point Greschke may have started planning an attack later on in the stage.