cycling: Vuelta a Espana stage #5: Meersman second – Kruijswijk out

Cycling: The uneventful 5th stage of the Vuelta a Espana was won again today by Gianni Meersman (Etixx-Quick Step) in a mass sprint. Leader Darwin Atapuma (BMC)'s team controlled the pace of the field throughout the day. The two escapees therefore had no chance. Shortly before the finish, there were dangerous crashes and, among other things, ranking driver Steven Kruijswijk had to give up the race. 

Tiago Machado tries it as a soloist

After the mountain riders had to show themselves on the past two days, it should be the sprinters' turn again today on the 5th stage - even if there are hardly any really pure sprinters in the field. The section led over 171,3 km from Viveiro to Lugo. With only one mountain classification in the third category, the overall leader should Darwin Atapuma (BMC) have no problems defending the jersey. It's true that the last few kilometers are bumpy up and down, but not even the fast-paced men had any real difficulties. Although this stage was one of the few opportunities for a bunch sprint and therefore the success of a breakaway group seemed extremely unlikely, they sat down right after the start Tiago Machado (Katusha) and Julien Morice (Direct Energie) away. However, the pace was too slow for the Portuguese Machado, so he finally let Morice stand with around 80 km to go. This was then caught shortly afterwards, while Machado was initially able to hold the lead with a lead of more than five minutes.

Gianni Meersman wins again

The BMC team from the current overall leader Darwin Atapuma controlled the pace of the field throughout the race, but in the final kilometers the teams of the fast men and the teams of the classification riders finally took over. As expected, Machado was not given a chance, so that he was caught with about 10 km to go. Tried three kilometers before the finish line Simon Clarke (Cannondale) and Philippe Gilbert (BMC) to throw a spanner in the works for the sprinters on a small climb. But the peloton did not allow a successful escape attempt. For some riders, however, the finish was even more unpleasant: First he crashed Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL-Jumbo) and dropped out of the race. In the final sprint itself, there was another crash in which many drivers were involved and injured themselves. As a result, the peloton tore apart and only a small group made it to the front together. Again sat down Gianni Meersman (Etixx Quick Step) through. finished second Fabio Felline (Trek Segafredo) off Kevin Reza (FDJ). Since the fall happened within the three-kilometre mark, there shouldn't be any time gaps between the classification riders. 

Vuelta a Espana Stage #5 – The daily standings:

Vuelta a Espana Stage #5 – Overall standings: