Cycling: Four cycling tours were completed this Sunday. There were hardly any serious changes in the overall ratings. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) triumphed at the Ruta Del Sol for the fifth time and Arthur Vichot (FDJ) successfully defended his title at the Tour du Haut Var. Primož Roglič (LottoNL-Jumbo) at the Volta ao Algarve and Ben Hermans (BMC) at the Tour of Oman, on the other hand, celebrated the greatest successes of their careers.
Ruta Del Sol Stage #5: Wellens wins final stage & Valverde overall winner for the 5th time
On the last stage of the Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista Del Sol, as expected, there were no more changes in the overall standings at the top. The Spaniard Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) won the Tour for the fifth time in his career. His compatriot Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) missed the title by just under a second. On the last section, the breakaways should be granted another success. The Belgian Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) prevailed against his competitors in the end. He was able to celebrate the day's victory after a sprint success against Simon Clarke (Cannondale). But there was also joy in Austria and Switzerland: While Georg Preidler (Sunweb) won the mountains classification, the performance of Sebastien Reichenbach (FDJ) was enough for a good seventh place in the overall classification.
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Tour du Haut Var Stage #2: Vichot defends his title
At the only two-day Tour Cycliste International du Haut Varmatin, Arthur Vichot (FDJ) was able to repeat his overall victory from last year. Third place behind day winner Julien Simon (Cofidis) and Julien El Fares (Delko Marseille Provence KTM) was enough for the Frenchman on today's stage around Draguignan. At the end of the day, a group of ten remained after several speed increases. After his victory at the GP la Marseillaise at the beginning of the year, Vihot celebrates his second win of the season.
Volta ao Algarve Stage #5: Roglič can't wait any longer and celebrates his greatest success
The former ski jumper Primož Roglič (LottoNL-Jumbo) managed the biggest jump of his career today. The Slovenian was also able to defend his lead on the final stage over 179 kilometers from Loulé to Malhão. However, he had to show all his skills once again, because his opponents tried everything on the final climb up to the Alto do Malhão. However, Michal Kwiatkowski (Sky) was only able to take a second off him and thus remains in second place overall ahead of Tony Gallopin (Lotto Soudal). The Portuguese Amaro Manuel Antunes (W52/FC Porto) not only managed to win the stage but also made the longest jump in the overall standings. In his home country, he improved his decisive attack two kilometers before the finish to fifth place in the classification.
Tour of Oman stage #6: Hermans saves himself with scratches in Kristoff's victory
The final stage of the Tour of Oman over 131 kilometers from The Wave to the Muttrah Corniche was decided in a mass sprint. Again Alexander Kristoff (Katusha-Alpecin) had the fastest legs. The Norwegian left Eduard Michael Grosu (Nippo-Vini Fantini) and Sacha Modolo (UAE Abu Dhabi) behind. Thus he was able to win three out of six stages. In the overall standings, Ben Hermans (BMC) was able to defend his lead and thus win the tour. Even though he finally finished without losing any time, there was a moment of terror for him. The Belgian fell and suffered some abrasions. Second overall was Rui Costa (UAE Abu Dhabi) ahead of Fabio Aru (Astana). Behind them were two Africans, the Eritrean Merhawi Kudus (Dimension Data) and the Ethiopian Tsgabu Grmay (Bahrain-Merida). In addition, Kudus won the junior ranking and with his team Dimension Data the team ranking.
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