22 May 2021
Hayter sprints to second Ruta win
Related riders
Ethan Hayter
Ruta del Sol stage five: Vera › Pulpi, 107km.
Ethan Hayter sprinted to his second stage victory of the race at Ruta del Sol in a hectic finale to secure the points classification.
Hayter rounded off a superb team move as Carlos Rodriguez led him out for the final sprint, narrowly avoiding a crash near the line, to earn the green jersey.
Rodriguez finished in the top 10 to secure a fantastic fourth overall, missing out on a podium place by just 30 seconds.
The decisive move to win the stage was initiated by the Grenadiers, with Leonardo Basso and Luke Rowe chasing down the early break as the race neared the final 15 kilometres.
The hard pace easily caught the escapees, before Owain Doull and Eddie Dunbar took over from their teammates to continue to shred the peloton ahead of a punchy final climb.
Rodriguez then helped Hayter to maintain contact with the reduced lead group on the ascent before leading the Londoner out to secure his second win in five stages
Pushing the pace to setup the final move
Reaction
Ethan Hayter
"The team were amazing, Leo Basso pulled today and pretty much every day. They were great all week and we ended up with Carlos fourth and I was eighth overall in the end.
Ethan Hayter
"The team were amazing, Leo Basso pulled today and pretty much every day. They were great all week and we ended up with Carlos fourth and I was eighth overall in the end.
"It was a short stage, so flat out on the last climb and I just about held on the back! Then there were crosswinds in the sprint, so I let Carlos go and ran at him. Impey and Stannard had a coming together which I could see in my peripheral vision. it’s not the way you want to win the sprint, but that's bike racing."
