Cycling: Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) has won Stage 5 of the Tour of the Basque Country, taking the overall lead. Ahead of the final time trial tomorrow, several riders are close together, so an exciting day is expected to end. Michael Woods (Cannondale-Drapac) and Louis Meintjes (UAE) were extremely strong today. Previous leader David De la Cruz (Quick-Step Floors) was also just 22 seconds behind the winner in tenth. Austria's Patrick Konrad (Bora-hansgrohe) also lost 22 seconds in eleventh place.
Last chance for the climbers
The king's stage of this year's Tour of the Basque Country led the drivers today over almost 140 kilometers from Bilbao to Eibar. On the way, six mountain classifications had to be completed. After it's on the 3st stage by David De la Cruz and on the 4st stage by Primož Roglič each had a solo victory by just a few seconds, larger time gaps were expected today. The climbers were also challenged, because before the final time trial tomorrow, today's mountain finish was the last chance to set accents in the ascending terrain. Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors) was no longer there. The unlucky French had fallen several times in the past few days. Relatively shortly after the start, 18 riders broke away from the field, including Swiss Danilo Wyss (BMC). However, due to the high number of riders, the group was left out for a maximum of two minutes and swallowed up again long before the finish.
Alex Howes secures the mountain jersey
The breakaway attempt was worth it for Alex Howes (Cannondale-Drapac). The American was able to collect more mountain points and defend his jersey. If he reaches the finish line tomorrow, he will win this classification. After the large group had been caught, further attacks from the field were unthinkable. Orica-Scott kept the pace up throughout for his captain, Simon Yates. Up to the Izuako and the Urkaregiko, the peloton was further decimated. Not exciting for the spectators, but effective for the goals of the team. However, there should be an open exchange of blows on the final climb. The Usartzako is a total of 5,5 kilometers long and belongs to the 1st category. The first kilometer is still moderately uphill with an average gradient of almost 6 percent. The last 1,5 kilometers can even be described as flat. However, the values in between are strong. These three kilometers are extremely steep with an average gradient of almost 13 percent.
Michael Woods strong - but Alejandro Valverde wins
Of course, the riders are also familiar with this impressive data from the final climb. After all, this mountain has already been climbed several times. Samy Sanchez (BMC) has already won three times in Eibar in the Euskaltel-Euskadi jersey, Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) triumphed in 2009. The field was led into the mountain by the Movistar team. Entering the steep section, the large group predictably flew apart. Michael Woods (Cannondale-Drapac) and Louis Meintjes (UAE) were able to break away for a short time, but were caught before the summit. A group of seven walked the last 1,5 kilometers together. However, Samy Sanchez (BMC) retired after a fall. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), on the other hand, used his experience to move ahead of the group ahead of the right-hander and win ahead of Romain Bardet (Ag2r), Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale-Drapac), Michael Woods (Cannondale-Drapac) and Louis Meintjes (UAE ). Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) finished three seconds back. Alejandro Valverde now leads the overall standings. It will be exciting due to the tight time gaps in tomorrow's time trial.