Evenepoel (Quick-Step) took third place in the stage, at the top of the finish wall, in the wake of Colombian Daniel Felipe Martinez, now second in the general classification just two seconds behind the Belgian before the last stage.
Rodriguez (Ineos), who opened his professional list, left 14 kilometers from the finish his compatriot Marc Soler, by far the most active in a breakaway launched from afar.
The young Andalusian saved a handful of seconds in the finish climb above Eibar, a very steep road (500 m at almost 13%) made slippery by the rain.
In the chase group, the Russian Aleksandr Vlasov and the Dane Jonas Vingegaard had to dismount, apparently following a collision, and crossed the line on foot.
Both, however, remain placed in the standings, less than 30 seconds away, especially since the Jumbo team bet on Friday on Vingegaard, second in the last Tour de France, and not on the leader of the race and outgoing winner, the Slovenian Primoz Roglic.
"It happened as we had planned," assured Roglic, left behind with a few other leading runners (Alaphilippe, A. Yates, Gaudu) on an attack from Evenepoel in the last pass, the Alto de Karabieta, 16 kilometers from the finish.
Saturday, the sixth and final stage includes seven climbs, including three classified in the first category, on the course limited to 135.7 kilometers between Eibar and Arrate, in the heart of Basque cycling.
© 2022 AFP