Tinkoff-Saxo’s Alberto Contador was in the first group of seven riders to cross the finish line on stage 5 of Volta a Catalunya after a furious pace in the crosswinds. As a result, Contador climbs to 3rd overall in the GC, while Tinkoff-Saxo loses Rafal Majka to what seems to be a stomach flu in the peloton.

Stage 5 of Volta a Catalunya was carried out in a roaring pace with crosswinds creating havoc and gaps. Ultimately, only 7 riders, including Alberto Contador, made it in the first group of favorites. Stage winner Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) crossed the line 5 seconds before his rivals after a late attack on the final stretch of the descent. Alberto Contador moves up two spots into 3rd place overall.

“It was a very fast stage and the peloton was cut. The final breakaway was good for all of us because some riders in the general classification were left far behind. In the end, I had to be careful, when Valverde attacked and I didn’t want to follow, because there were others who had to close the gap and for me it was also better that Alejandro, who is a friend, won instead of any other rider”, comments Alberto Contador after the stage finish in Valls.
 
Asked for an evaluation of his performance on stage 5, Alberto Contador noted that he was once again content with the progress made in his final race before Giro d’Italia.

“Today, I am happy with the feelings I had on the bike, it was above all a good day of work, in the light of especially Giro d’Italia. The split in the pack was created by the sum of all of us, and there wasn’t any team that caused the echelons, although perhaps the most interested of the teams were Etixx, Sky and somewhat Movistar as well”, says Alberto Contador, who finished 7th on the stage in the group just behind Valverde.

Stage 5 from Alp to Valls was made hard by a surging crosswind on a fast, mainly downwards facing, stage. Before the final category 2 climb Alt de Lilla, the peloton and favorites were split up and race leader Bart De Clercq was left behind. On the climb, enough power was put into the pedals in the front group to keep the chasing group at bay. Contador caught an attacking Valverde on the descent but decided to leave the chasing to his rival, when the Movistar rider attacked for the second time.

Further down the road, Tinkoff-Saxo was struggling as several riders suffered from a stomach flu, which already before the stage forced Rafal Majka to abandon the Volta a Catalunya. Tinkoff-Saxo DS Steven de Jongh explains:

“It was a hard day for many of the guys. Rafal was sick and didn’t start and Basso was throwing up during the stage, as were a number of guys in the bunch today. Despite that I’m satisfied with the fact that Alberto gained two positions and he’s now 3rd, which is very good. With the crosswinds, splits and the attacks on the final climb and down to the finishing straight, today evolved into a hard stage”, explains Steven de Jongh, who hopes that his riders can recover for tomorrow’s penultimate day.

“Tomorrow, we hope to stay in our current position in the GC and we also hope that some of our sick guys can recover a bit. For sure, it’s going to be a hard stage taken the conditions we’re racing under into consideration”.