German Erik Zabel (Telekom) won a sprint to capture the third stage of the Ruta del Sol on Tuesday. But in the overall standings Erik Dekker (Rabobank) was able to preserve his lead, staying six seconds ahead of Belgium Marc Wauters.

Alcala de La Real creates a nice backdrop for the Ruta.

Photo: Graham Watson

Kazakhstan’s Aleksandr Sheffr, Belgian Andrei Tchmil, and German Jan Schaffrath round out the top five in the general classification.

The stage was an 180km ride between Luque and Jaen. Zabel was the overall winner of the race in 1997.

Max Van Heeswijk of The Netherlands and Italian Endrio Leoni finished second and third in Tuesday’s stage.

Tomorrow’s 175km stage runs from Cabra to Benalmadena. The race finishes up on Thursday with a 171km ride from Humilladero to Granada.

Copyright AFP 2001