Published on : 02/22/2026
At the end of the fifth and final stage of the Ruta Del Sol – Vuelta A Andalusia, Alex Aranburu managed to gain valuable seconds to move up to sixth place in the general classification. He won the points classification.
Right up until the final kilometers, the Cofidis team gave it their all to climb as high as possible in the general classification of the Ruta Del Sol – Vuelta A Andalusia. On Sunday, February 22, 2026, the fifth and final stage was ripe for attacks. While three men led the way for much of the day, it was the strong contenders in the general classification who played the leading roles in the last 30 kilometers.
At the top of the first of two climbs up the Alto de la Primera Cruz, Alex Aranburu, well supported by his teammates, took three bonus seconds for the general classification. At the finish, he took fourth place in Lucena. Thanks to his result, he moved up four places in the general classification and finished the race in sixth place. With four top-10 finishes in the five stages of the race (17th, 3rd, 6th, 4th, and 4th), Alex Aranburu won the green jersey in the points classification.
The reaction
Bingen Fernandez : "Today was the stage with a hilly finish. We knew that it would have a big impact on the overall standings, even though first and second place were already pretty much decided. We set off with the idea of getting a good result and going for the win with Alex Aranburu. We filtered at the start of the stage. Three guys broke away. We helped control the breakaways. Alex took the bonus points and in the end, he finished 4th in the stage. Pidcock had a superb final climb. He was the strongest in the stage. It was quite a performance. On our side, the team's performance was good, and we're all happy with how we rode all week. We got a good result overall and with Milan Fretin's stage win too. It always feels good to win."