The final three stages of the Volta a Catalunya may contain no major mountains but Alberto Contador refuses to go down without a fight. Today he attacked on the final climb and even mixed it up in a bunch sprint as he tried to score bonus seconds to erase his 4-second deficit.

Another mountainous and 218 kilometer long stage was in store for the Volta a Catalunya peloton during day 5 of the Catalan race.  The big question was if the GC riders wanted to take advantage of the hilly terrain to create havoc in the top of the rankings.
 
But it wasn’t until the very final climb with 14 kilometers to go, that riders started to jump up the road and Alberto Contador set the group on fire with numerous attacks chasing the 4 seconds that separate him from the overall lead of the race. But his rivals shut down the gap and in a furious counter-move, Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) dived down the descent towards the finish line while the GC riders were chasing from behind.
 
5 kilometers to go, the Dane was swept up and the stage ended in a bunch sprint where Luka Mezgez (Giant-Shimano) took his third stage win while Tinkoff-Saxo’s Alberto Contador showed some great effort sprinting his way to 6th position.

“The most important thing was the feelings I've had," he said. "The legs recover well each day and for that I am very, very happy.

“The important thing was to be there on the last climb. The team has been with me all the time and, as I knew there was a small climb, I was there to see what happened, but I did not plan to try. It was almost impossible because the road was very wide and there was a headwind.

“I was well-placed in the sprint and since I was there, I continued to see how far I could go, but without taking more risks than necessary, with caution and thinking particularly of avoiding any split in the bunch.

"The parcours gives little places for doing things. For me, the important thing now is to recover well of these days of efforts, which we can really feel."
 
“Today’s stage revealed that Alberto is very confident," sports director Philippe Mauduit said. "With an attack on the final climb before heading down towards the finish line where he participated in the bunch sprint as well clearly underlines that he’s strong and he’s not afraid of going all in.

"The rest of the boys did a super job protecting him throughout the stage where we didn’t have to pull at any time. The race ends Sunday and we’ll see what happens tomorrow."

Contador is still second overall - 4 seconds behind Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha).

You can read our preview of stage 6 here and follow our live coverage at 15.15 CET on CyclingQuotes.com/live