Gall not at the finish

Spaniard Ayuso wins the Tour of the Basque Country!

Juan Ayuso has crowned himself the winner of the 63rd Tour of the Basque Country on the final day! 

The Spaniard from the UAE team snatched the yellow jersey from the Dane Mattias Skjelmose with second place on the final stage with start and finish in Eibar. Gregor Mühlberger finished the tour, which was overshadowed by heavy crashes among the top favorites, in 54th place.

Mühlberger finishes 29th
Felix Gall, captain of the Decathlon team, did not finish the sixth stage on Saturday. Mühlberger (Movistar) was in the leading group at times on the final section with demanding mountain classifications, finishing in 29th place, just over four minutes behind.

The stage win went to Ineos rider Carlos Rodriguez, who improved to second place in the overall standings. Skjelmose finished in fourth place 41 seconds behind Ayuso and finished the stage race in third place. For the 21-year-old Ayuso, winning the stage race is the biggest success of his career to date.

Heavy crashes during the tour
The numerous serious crashes during the tour caused a stir. Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard suffered a broken collarbone, several ribs and a bruised lung, as did Remco Evenepoel. The former world champion broke his collarbone and the shoulder blade in his right arm.

Primoz Roglic, who was leading the overall standings at one point, also had to end the stage race after two crashes, but was spared serious injuries.