Lapeira is fastest after a slide in the Basque Country, Evenepoel keeps it safe after a battle for bonuses

A rain-covered sprinters’ stage resulted in a final with a lot of sliding in the Basque Country. Paul Lapeira (Decathlon-AG2R) proved to be the fastest. Louis Vervaeke sprinted to an excellent third place. Remco Evenepoel joined the battle for bonus seconds, but the Belgian champion was trumped by Juan Ayuso.

Quite early in the stage, five escapees drove away. The Basque brothers Enekoitz and Xabier Azparren set out with Jetse Bol, Alexis Vuillermoz and Ivan Cobo. The latter quickly released from the front.

Bora-hansgrohe, the team of leader Primoz Roglic, controlled the peloton. The lead was a maximum of about four minutes.

The ride was certainly not flat, but it was suitable for sprinters. The escapees didn’t stand a chance. Due to the nervousness in the peloton, the foursome automatically blew back.

With 9 kilometers to go, Remco Evenepoel showed himself in the intermediate sprint. UAE beat him. Isaac Del Toro was the first to pass, ahead of leader Juan Ayuso. Evenepoel took one more bonus second.

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