Team Colombia left the Tour du Poitou-Charentes empty-handed despite putting in an aggressive showing. The team now looks ahead to next weekend's semi-classics.

The Tour du Poitou-Charentes ended on Friday August 29th with stage 5 (Lezay – Poitiers 191,9 Km) won by Jesus Herrada. The Movistar rider preceded in the final sprint Belgian Jan Bakelandts (Omega Pharma Quick Step) and Italian Nicola Ruffoni (Bardiani-CSF), whilst French Sylvain Chavanel (IAM Cycling) won the GC. The best Team Colombia rider was Leonardo Duque, 21st on the finishing line.

The final stage was animated by Colombia’s Edwin Avila and five more riders: Planckaert (Roubaix-Lille Metropole), Laborie (Bretagne Séché Environnement), Van Melsen (Wanty-Groupe Gobert), Dernies (Wallonie-Bruxelles) and Rostollan (La Pomme Marseille). The breakaway group reached a 2-minute maximum advantage before the reaction of the peloton led by IAM Cycling, Movistar and AG2R-La Mondiale.

The escape ended with 20 Km to go, and none of the later attempts was able to avoid the expected bunch sprint.

“The team managed to react after yesterday’s sub-par performance with the courageous attempt by Avila”, Sports Director Valerio Tebaldi said. "“Now we must look ahead: next week the team will face two big races like Paris – Brussels (September 6th) and GP Fourmies (September 7th), and we expect our guys to be in the mix”.