David de la Cruz wins Ruta del Sol time-trial as Tim Wellens takes general classification
By Andy Charles
Last Updated: 18/02/18 3:37pm
Tim Wellens managed to hold on to his lead and win Ruta del Sol after the closing time-trial, which was won by Team Sky's David de la Cruz.
De La Cruz produced the quickest time over 14.2km in Barbate, finishing in 17:11 which was six seconds faster than Movistar's Andrey Amador.
The battle for the winner's red jersey came down to Wellens and another Team Sky rider - Wout Poels, who had won the queen stage of the race back on Wednesday to take the lead but lost it to the Belgian on Saturday.
They were separated by 11 seconds going into the time-trial, which featured sections run on dirt roads, where punctures were a distinct threat.
But none of the leaders suffered any issues, and Wellens was never in any significant threat as he produced a decent time at the intermediate split and Mikel Landa struggled badly against the clock.
Poels did manage to beat Wellens time in the end, but the difference was only three seconds and Wellens was able to celebrate a general classification victory by eight seconds.
Chris Froome, whose hopes of overall victory disappeared with a late puncture on Saturday, finished 11th in the time-trial, some 27 seconds off the pace set by De La Cruz, and 10th overall.
It was the Spaniard's first win for Team Sky since joining from the Quick-Step team over the off-season.
