Following Tuesday’s exciting climbing spectacle in stage 4 of Vuelta a Espana 2024, race organizer Unipublic had created a Stage 5 menu, which would appeal to the sprinters in the Vuelta peloton.

Stage 5 of La Vuelta 2024 was a 177-kilometer ride from Fuente del Maestre to Sevilla on a route, which would take the riders down from the mountains and into a “kettle of heat,” where temperatures exceeded forty degrees Celsius. The first two-thirds of the route would be in hilly terrain, before the riders reached the Spanish flatlands where many riders could get done and dusted.

Primoz Roglic had fought his way to an impressive stage victory in yesterday’s mountain stage and had also seized the lead in the general classification for Team Red Bull – Bora - Hansgrohe. The Slovenian rider showed up smilingly at the stage start in the beautiful red race leader jersey. 

Roglic was eight seconds ahead of Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) in the general classification, while Enric Mas was third for Movistar Team, 32 seconds behind the race leader. Mattias Skjelmose was 8th for Lidl-Trek, Mikel Landa (Soudal-QuickStep) 9th, Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike) 13th, Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos-Grenadiers), 18 th, Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) 22nd, and Richard Carapaz 26th for his EF Education-EasyPost outfit, 02:02 minutes behind Roglic.

Team Kern Pharma and Euskaltel-Euskadi were the usual teams prepared to animate the Vuelta stages and create a spectacle for the spectators along the route. Ibon Ruiz and Txomin Juaristi formed an attacking group and took off from the peloton shortly after the start of today’s stage 5.

After fifty kilometers of racing, the front duo had fought its way to a lead of more than five minutes. Meanwhile, the main peloton was headed by riders from Alpecin-Deceuninck in support of their sprinter Kaden Groves. 

There were no major occurrences during the mid-part of the stage. The breakaway duo remained in front, while the main peloton was enjoying a relatively relaxed day in the saddle, following yesterday’s tough mountain effort.

With fifty kilometers remaining of today’s stage, the advantage of the front duo had been reduced to fifty-five seconds. Red Bull – Bora – Hansgrohe and Visma-Lease a Bike riders were leading the chase effort in cooperation with UAE Team Emirates.

Temperatures reached forty degrees Celsius, and riders were using their FlowBio hydration sensors to optimally monitor and adjust their hydration status.

Ibon Ruiz (Team Kern Pharma) and Txomin Juaristi (Euskaltel-Euskadi) were caught by the chasing peloton with approximately thirty-eight kilometers left.

Thomas de Gendt (Lotto-Dstny) attacked with thirty-four kilometers left to animate the stage and fight for a stage victory for his team. Alas, the Belgian was caught shortly thereafter.

The sprinter teams had joined the front of the peloton in the final kilometers to pave the way for optimum results for their respective sprint aces. They were joining forces with various GC teams, which were riding to position their GC favorites as well as possible in the final kilometers to avoid time losses.

Rui Costa and Owain Doull crashed while cornering at the front of the peloton with nine kilometers left. The EF Education-EasyPost duo appeared relatively ok following the crash and would take it easy while making their way to the finish line. 

It later appeared Costa would not be able to proceed as he was undergoing tests from the medical staff for signs of concussion.

Five kilometers remained and the speed at the front of the peloton was intense. The sprinter teams were setting up their sprint trains, while the GC teams were fighting for front positions to prevent their GC riders from being involved in potential further crashes.

Alpecin-Deceuninck, DSM-Firmenich, and Intermarche-Wanty riders were at the front. Would Kaden Groves prevail again?

Groves was at the front with his lead-out man in the decisive phase but hesitated in a crucial moment. Wout van Aert opened his powerful sprint earlier than expected and Pavel Bittner countered.

Pavel Bittner won stage 5 of Vuelta a Espana 2024 for Team DSM-Deceunink. Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) finished second, while Kaden Groves completed the stage podium for Alpecin-Deceuninck.

Primoz Roglic remains general classification leader in Vuelta a Espana 2024 following today’s stage 5.

Thursday’s stage 6 of La Vuelta a Espana 2024 will be a hilly and mountainous experience for the remaining riders in the Vuelta peloton. A 185.5-kilometer route from Jerez de la Frontera to Yunquera will include one Category 1 climb and three Category 3 climbs. The stage concludes with a Category 3 climb and may offer opportunities for climbing goats and breakaway hopefuls. 

Stay tuned to Roadcycling.com for additional coverage from Vuelta a Espana 2024.

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