After four days in Galicia, the peloton moved to the province of León for the fastest stage of the race. After around 15km of racing, a five-rider breakaway formed featuring Sara Martín, Van Alphen, Eraso, Coutinho and Garau. Alice Coutinho claimed both QOMs of the day, drawing level with her compatriots Allione and Squiban in the mountains classification. The last remnants of the break, Martín, Van Alphen and Eraso, were caught with 9 km to go, as the sprinters’ trains were already beginning to organize for the finale.
A massive crash inside the final 2km involved several GC contenders, including van der Breggen and Trinca Colonel. Fortunatley it seems they didn't suffer serious consequences and their time was neutralized. The stage came down to the expected bunch sprint on a slightly uphill ramp. Bredewold launched with around 250 m to go, leading out Kopecky. Noticing that nobody was coming around them, the red jersey sat up in the final metres and gifted the stage to her teammate! Another 1-2 for SD Worx, with Paternoster once again finishing third despite riding with a sore wrist after a crash around 25km from the finish. Skalniak-Sojka and Bossuyt completed the top five. Lotte Kopecky extends her GC lead, but tomorrow the real Vuelta begins with Les Praeres de Nava, before the final showdown on the Angliru the following day.