Stefan Küng's time trial prowess saw him assume the overall lead at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, winning the penultimate stage four ahead of tomorrow's run-in to Valencia.
The Swiss rider finished the 14.3km-long course nearly 11 seconds faster than second-place Nelson Oliveira (Movistar), with Arkéa-Samsic's Thibault Guernalec rounding out the podium places, a further 28 seconds adrift.
The drama of the day, however, came in the final kilometre of the last rider left out on the course.
Movistar's Enric Mas started the stage with a 38-second buffer over Küng, and at the intermediate time check was just 19 seconds down on the time trial specialist, meaning it would be touch and go as to who would be in the leader's jersey at the end of the day.
Enric Mas (Eurosport/GCN)
Disaster then struck for Mas inside the final kilometre as the Spanish rider punctured, and with little time or road left for a wheel change to make a difference, he came across the line in 15th place, having lost 1-27, now in third overall and 36 seconds down on Küng.
Hi. I'm Cycling Weekly's Weekend Editor. I like writing offbeat features and eating too much bread when working out on the road at bike races.
Before joining Cycling Weekly I worked at The Tab and I've also written for Vice, Time Out, and worked freelance for The Telegraph (I know, but I needed the money at the time so let me live).
I also worked for ITV Cycling between 2011-2018 on their Tour de France and Vuelta a España coverage. Sometimes I'd be helping the producers make the programme and other times I'd be getting the lunches. Just in case you were wondering - Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen had the same ham sandwich every day, it was great.
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