For the second day running, Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) turned in an impressive display of climbing power on the Ruta del Sol, netting the overall lead on the race`s sole summit finish of Mancha Real. The stage win though, did not prove possible for the Spanish veteran, and with only a handful of seconds between the top names by the finishing line, winning outright now hinges on Friday`s short, punchy time trial. Contador and Trek-Segafredo once again played a very aggressive game, working hard with Team Sky to pull back daylong breakaway Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal). After Warren Barguil (Sunweb) had briefly gone clear at the foot of the climb, Contador then benefited from a massive drive by team-mate and Trofeo Laguiglea winner Fabio Felline (Trek-Segafredo) before punching hard on the accelerator himself.ADVERTISEMENT Contador`s single attack, at three kilometres from the line, was so successful it scattered the entire field and left him at the head of the race and with an initial margin of over 10 seconds. But then as the slopes eased slightly, the riders behind could recoup their losses a little and eventual stage winner Thibaut Pinot (FDJ), followed by the rest, began to reel him in. `It was a very hard ascent, and we wanted to drive as hard as we could in the team,` Contador said afterwards. `I maybe went for it too early, there was a strong headwind, but I wanted to be sure my attack counted. `My pulse rate went up quite high quite soon, but that`s what always happens to me in these early races. It would be the same in the Algarve when I`ve raced there. The climb, finally, was just a little too long for me, although I was surprised that Pinot caught me. I`m disappointed I didn`t win, because I wanted to do that to thank the team. But overall I`m pleased.
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