Milan Fretin edges tight sprint on Ruta del Sol stage 3

Milan Fretin (Cofidis) won stage 3 of the Vuelta a Andalucía-Ruta del Sol after a tight bunch sprint in Lopera. The Belgian timed his effort perfectly on the uphill drag to the finish line to pip Paul Penhoët (Groupama-FDJ) and Christophe Laporte (Visma | Lease a Bike) to the win.

It was the sixth win of Fretin’s career and a close echo of his triumph on the uphill finishing straight in Tavira on last year’s Volta ao Algarve.

It had been a relatively subdued day of action at the Ruta del Sol prior to the explosive finale, where the peloton had to navigate a technical run-in ahead of the kick to the line.

Laporte’s Visma guard took up the reins in the final kilometre, and the Frenchman looked to be in the box seat as the sprint began. Fernando Gaviria (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) also initially appeared placed to make an impact but the Colombian was inadvertently blocked by Laporte’s teammate Axel Zingle, and the chance disappeared.

Penhoët made a determined charge after Laporte opened his effort, but it was Fretin who judged the finale better than anyone to claim the win.

Iván Romeo (Movistar) finished safely in the peloton to retain the overall lead, seven seconds ahead of Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility) and 50 up on Laporte.

Joe Burnett (Burgos Burpellet BH), Nicolás Alustiza (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Samuel Flórez (Modern Adventure) and Giosuè Epis (Petrolike) were the day’s early escapees, clipping clear shortly after the start in Jaén. They would lead the race over the Alto Santa Ana and the Alto de Peñallana, carrying a buffer of just under a minute into the final 20km.

The break began to fragment in the final 15km, but by that point, the peloton was almost upon them. Alustiza, the last man standing, would be swept up with 12km remaining.