With 193.8 km, today's stage covered the longest distance of the race. The route between Viana and Leitza featured five climbs before heading to the finish on a circuit with winding roads and a long and fast descent. With 500m remaining, Ide launched his sprint and wasn't able to be brought back. The Dutchman thereby celebrated his first WorldTour victory and takes over the lead in the general classification.
Result
01 I. Schelling 4:53:33
02 M. Sobrero +0:00
03 D. Gaudu +0:00
From the Finish Line
"Today I took my first WorldTour victory and of course I'm immensely proud of it. I was well positioned before the last descent. With one kilometer left, I found a gap and 500 metres later I opened up my sprint. With the tricky turns in the finale, I knew it would be difficult to be caught. I have to say that I am surprised that such a final was allowed by the UCI, because it could have been quite dangerous. But I think everyone made it through fine." - Ide Schelling
"Yesterday we weren't on target in the finale and Ide really took that on himself after the race. I think that made him all the more focused and motivated for today. We had a long meeting before the stage and went through our plan in great detail and Ide really executed it very well. The guys also supported him and brought him into a very good position before the finale. He took the last kilometers alone from the front and rode well around the roundabouts. Nevertheless, I have to say that such an arrival had the potential to be quite dangerous and it's not usual to see such a finish in a WorldTour race. But in terms of the team's performance, it was a deserved win for Ide, which also gives us a lot of confidence for the rest of the week." - Jens Zemke, Sports Director