Visma | Lease a Bike and UAE overpowered after arm-wrestle in Ruta del Sol

Laporte had already made headlines on day one: the Frenchman returned to racing and struck immediately with a fine win, but a day later he had to hand over the leader’s jersey to an in-form Romeo. The Spanish national champion (Movistar) looks hard to dislodge from yellow, although plenty can still happen in this race.

Stage 3, from Jaén to Lopera, offered plenty of opportunities. With roughly 2,000 metres of climbing, it was a rolling, selective day in which the breakaway tried its luck: mountains-jersey holder Josh Burnett (Burgos Burpellet BH) went up the road with Nicolás Alustiza (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Giosué Epis (Petrolike) and Samuel Flórez (Modern Adventure).

They were caught with 11 kilometres to go, setting up a lively finale. Visma | Lease a Bike and UAE Team Emirates-XRG sensed a chance for the stage win and took control of the peloton, with Movistar also prominent as they protected Romeo’s GC lead.

In the end, it became a sprint — but not on a flat, straight run-in. The final kilometre rose sharply and the streets of Lopera were twisty, meaning timing and positioning were everything. Fretin judged it best and used his punch to finish it off.

Laporte was then surprisingly beaten by Penhoët for second place, while UAE did not even manage a top-ten result on the day. Laporte could at least take comfort from keeping the points jersey; Romeo stays in yellow. Burnett is the new king of the mountains after collecting points on the climbs.