Ruta del Sol: Modolo gets his win in Herrera

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Two days after Sacha Modolo raised his arms in celebration thinking he'd won the Ruta del Sol stage only to see Direct Energie's Thomas Boudat steal up the left side and snatch the win instead, the EF Education First-Drapac rider made no question of stage 3.

Modolo's lead-out train was flawless and his sprint perfectly timed, and this time Boudat was nowhere in sight as he confidently raised his arms in victory. Instead, it was Carlos Barbero (Movistar) just behind, with Nelson Soto (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) in third.

Although a crash disrupted the peloton in the final 200m, overnight leader Wout Poels (Team Sky) took no risks in the bunch sprint and sailed across the line safely to keep the red jersey by two seconds over Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) and Tim Wellens of Lotto Soudal.

How it unfolded

On yet another lovely, sunny day in Spain, the peloton clearly enjoyed the slightly brisk temperatures and light breeze, making quick work of the 166.1km route from Mancha Real to Herrera. With only two category 3 climbs on tap, and a mostly flat profile, it was a prime day for the sprinters.

The four-man breakaway with Marco Minnaard (Wanty-Groupe Gobert), Alvaro Cuadros (Caja Rural-RGA Seguros), Hector Saez (Euskadi-Murias) and Oscar Cabedo (Burgos-BH) never got much of a lead, thanks to the Team Sky train which shepherded race leader Poels along, clicking off the kilometres apace.

Cuadros claimed the first mountain points on the Puerto de Carcabiey with 64km to go, moving up the classification behind teammate Luis Mas. Saez got the better of the Caja Rural rider on the next ascent, the Puerto del Mojón, as the breakaway enjoyed a 2:20 lead 10km later.

Soon, the Direct Energie and EF Education First-Drapac squads came to the fore in the interest of their sprinters Thomas Boudat and Sasha Modolo, respectively. Although Cuadros and Saez put in a panicked attack with 25km to go, the peloton steamrolled past them inside 20km to go.

AG2R La Mondiale led over some gently rolling hills from 10km to go until Astana took over with 4km remaining. On a wide-open run-in, the pace was furious as the lead-out trains fought for position. Astana held firm with a ripping pace, but EF Education First-Drapac pushed past with 1.3km to go before a roundabout, scraping the Astana train off the front.

Direct Energie made another push for Boudat, but Modolo had a prime position coming into the final bend, and this time made no mistakes before the finish line. Although he had a wheel-length lead, the Italian threw his bike to secure victory before confidently raising his arms in celebration.

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