LERIDA, Spain (AFP) - Belgium's Jelle Wallays has held his nerve to win a sprint finish to the 18th stage of the Tour of Spain, with Britain's Simon Yates retaining his overall lead.
Wallays, riding for Lotto Soudal, held off Norwegian Sven Erik Bystrom, with Slovakia's world champion Peter Sagan coming third in a strong finish by the chasing peloton.
Mitchelton-Scott rider Yates remained 25 seconds ahead of his nearest rival, Spanish veteran Alejandro Valverde, in the general classification.
Another Spaniard, Enric Mas of Quick-Step, stayed in third, 1min 22sec behind the red jersey.
"It was ok today until the final, it was very fast because of the wind and that made it hard, but for the rest it was a nice day and probably the easiest of the race so far. I am looking forward to tomorrow now," said Yates.
Wallays was left happy his risk-taking paid off, praising ex-French rider Thomas Voeckler for his words of wisdom after the duo had shared a sprint finish, won by the Frenchman, back on the Paris-Tours in 2014.
****Jelle Wallays celebrates winning the 18th stage of the Tour of Spain