Vuelta a España: Stage 5

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Meersman wins crash-marred sprint finish on stage 5 whilst Darwin Atapula has secured the leader’s red jersey for a second day at the Vuelta a España

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Vuelta a España: Stage 5

Darwin Atapula (BMC) secured the leader’s red jersey for a second day at the Vuelta a España after a crash-marred sprint finish on stage 5 Gianni Meersman.

Gianni-Meersman-Vuelta-a-Espana-Stage-5-_Tim-De-Waele

© Etixx – Quick-Step / Tim de Waele

Atapuma spent the day in the peloton safely tucked behind his BMC Racing Team teammates, while up the front a two-rider breakawy escaped early in the 170.3km stage. BMC controlled the situation, keeping the breakaway’s advantage within five minutes, and spent most of the day at the front of the bunch, with help from the sprinters’ teams in the final 50km.

The sprinters’ trains started to form as the race came back together with 13km to go, setting the stage for a fast and furious finale. Simon Clarke (Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling Team) attacked with 3km remaining and Philippe Gilbert (BMC) jumped on his wheel to establish a gap on the peloton.

The duo were reeled in and a crash when Steven Kruijswijk crashed heavily into an unmarked metal pole in the road in the final three kilometres, breaking his left collarbone, forcing him to abandon this Vuelta. The crash caused splits in the bunch, leaving a small group to battle for the stage which was won by Gianni Meersman (Etixx-QuickStep).

Darwin Atapuma: “To wear the red jersey today was a dream come true. I’m so happy and the emotions are strong so I can’t really express how happy I am, I can only feel it. All of the support from the fans on the side of the road was incredible, especially the Colombians. Sport is really big in Colombia, especially cycling, so for all of the Colombians that live in Spain it is really special for them to be able to share this excitement with me.”

Gianni Meersman: “It was already a dream come true to claim my maiden Grand Tour victory on Sunday, but to double up today leaves me without any more words. I felt really good, was confident in my legs and focused on what I had to do, and now I’m very happy to collect another win for the team and myself.”

“The race got off to a slow start, but things heated up in the last hour, when the speed increased in the peloton. The boys did a fantastic job today, they were again incredible and had trust in me, which was very important. You could see Zdenek’s lead-out was that of a man who knows his sprinter can win and it really made the difference in the final kilometer”, concluded Gianni, who seized the green jersey following his success in Lugo.

Steven Kruijswijk (Lotto Jumbo) “I crashed heavily into that pole. It’s terrible that I have to leave this race because of an object that shouldn’t have been there. I’m going home immediately tomorrow. This was, after the Giro d’Italia, my second big target and I’m really fed up about the way I’m leaving this Vuelta.”

STAGE
1 MEERSMAN Gianni ETIXX – QUICK STEP 04h 16′ 42”
2 FELLINE Fabio TREK – SEGAFREDO + 00′ 00”
3 REZA Kévin FDJ
4 PSANCHEZ GIL Luis-Leon ASTANA PRO TEAM
5 WAEYTENS ZICO TEAM GIANT ALPECIN
6 VALVERDE Alejandro MOVISTAR TEAM
7 HARDY Romain COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS
8 DRUCKER Jean-Pierre BMC RACING TEAM
9 VANBILSEN KENNETH COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS
10 GONCALVES Jos̩ CAJA RURAL РSEGUROS RGA

13 QUINTANA Nairo MOVISTAR TEAM
14 FROOME Christopher TEAM SKY
27 YATES Simon ORICA BIKEEXCHANGE
30 ATAPUMA Darwin BMC RACING TEAM
35 KENNAUGH Peter TEAM SKY
70 CONTADOR Alberto TINKOFF
171 THWAITES Scott BORA-ARGON 18 + 04′ 23”
187 CARTHY Hugh CAJA RURAL – SEGUROS RGA + 05′ 38”

OVERALL
1 ATAPUMA Darwin BMC RACING TEAM 17h 39′ 52”
2 VALVERDE Alejandro MOVISTAR TEAM + 00′ 28”
3 FROOME Christopher TEAM SKY + 00′ 32”
4 QUINTANA Nairo MOVISTAR TEAM + 00′ 38”
5 CHAVES Johan Esteban ORICA BIKEEXCHANGE + 00′ 38”
6 SANCHEZ GONZALEZ Samuel BMC RACING TEAM + 01′ 07”
7 FERNANDEZ ANDUJAR Ruben MOVISTAR TEAM + 01′ 10”
8 KONIG Leopold TEAM SKY + 01′ 12”
9 KENNAUGH Peter TEAM SKY + 01′ 14”
10 BRAMBILLA Gianluca ETIXX – QUICK STEP + 01′ 22”
11 CALMEJANE Lilian DIRECT ENERGIE + 01′ 24”
12 MORENO FERNANDEZ Daniel MOVISTAR TEAM + 01′ 35”
13 CONTADOR Alberto TINKOFF + 01′ 52”
14 DE LA CRUZ David ETIXX – QUICK STEP + 01′ 55”
15 YATES Simon ORICA BIKEEXCHANGE + 02′ 07”
16 WYSS Marcel IAM CYCLING + 02′ 07”
17 TALANSKY Andrew CANNONDALE-DRAPAC PRO CYCLING TEAM + 02′ 13”
18 SCARPONI Michele ASTANA PRO TEAM + 02′ 17”
19 HERMANS Ben BMC RACING TEAM + 02′ 27”
20 FORMOLO Davide CANNONDALE-DRAPAC PRO CYCLING TEAM

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