Oropesa del Mar > Portell de Morella 181km

Before the race started, I thought this would be a breakaway stage and I’m still leaning that way. We have massive gaps on GC and a stage with almost 3800m of climbing is incredibly difficult to control for a sprint, even if you have a sprinter who can make the finish. Of course, it all depends on who’s in the break, UAE will be very happy if the nearest rider on GC is at over 5 minutes, but that can’t be guaranteed.