The final stage to Valencia exploded on the very tough La Frontera. Bora-Hansgrohe set a blistering pace leading up to the climb, and then the GC riders attacked. Gloag could follow at first but was forced to pass when Aleksandr Vlasov launched another attack. On the descent, several groups merged, and a reduced peloton began to chase the GC riders. It gradually reduced the gap but could not close it. Gloag finished 15th at 30 seconds, enough to win the youth classification.

"It was a difficult day”, sports director Frans Maassen said. "We expected it to be, as the most challenging climb of the stage was on the programme. It was a brutal climb. It exploded completely. Thomas was a little less good than the last four days, so after the climb, he was not among the favourites. It's a shame that his group didn't return to the front because we could have even sprinted with Olav. He rode uphill very well today. All in all, it was an excellent week for Tom. It's impressive what he and the whole group have shown after Michel Hessmann and Lars Boven dropped out.