BARCELONA: Italian Fabio Aru came out on top to win Stage 18 of the Tour of Spain in a close finish with Chris Froome, who has closed the gap on overall race leader Alberto Contador with just three days to go.
Astana’s Aru broke away from the pack with about 4km remaining and after exchanging the lead with Froome in the run-in, sprinted clear to win his second stage of the Tour on Thursday.
Alejandro Valverde of Movistar finished third, 13 seconds off the winner.
The 157km stage went from A Estrada to Monte Castrove en Meis in Galicia and finished with a category two ascent with a rise of over 500m in the final 7.2km. It is the second to last summit finish before Sunday’s finale in Santiago de Compostela.
“I knew the final 3km would be steep and so I broke away a little bit earlier,” Aru told reporters.
“By this stage of the race your energy levels are not the same but I have prepared well for this Tour. It is the first time that I have taken part and I am enjoying it.”
REUTERS
