American Tyler Farrar won the 11th stage of the Tour of Spain in a mass sprint finish on Wednesday, as Spain’s Alejandro Valverde retained the leader’s golden jersey.
The Garmin rider edged Belgian Philippe Gilbert and Italy’s Marco Marcato to the line after a 200km ride from Murcia to Caravaca de la Cruz in southeastern Spain, which included a first category hill climb.
All three were among a group of 49 riders, including Valverde, to record the same time.
The stage was marked by a breakaway after around 65km by Frenchman David Moncoutie, Spain’s Amets Txurruka and Dutch rider Johnny Hoogerland.
The three built up a lead of more than eight minutes but were caught by the peleton around 50km before the finish.
Frenchman Remy di Gregorio also launched a late and short-lived attack.
Valverde conserves the golden jersey, seven seconds ahead of Australia’s two-time Tour de France runner-up Cadel Evans and 36 ahead of Dutchman Robert Gesink.
The Spaniard snatched the overall lead from Evans on Monday following the race’s ninth stage.
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