Samuel Dumoulin found a finish well-suited to his skills in yesterday's stage of the Volta a Catalunya and the past stage winner of the race did well to take 3rd. Despite his team having a clear focus on the GC, they are hopeful that their sprinter will take his chances over the weekend.

As a strong climber with a fast finish, Samuel Dumoulin is perfectly suited to the hilly nature of the Volta a Catalunya and it is no surprise that he is a multiple stage winner in the Spanish race. The 2014 edition hasn't been too successful so far by but yesterday he showed his cards.

With a category 2 climb in the finale and a slightly uphill sprint, the stage had all the characteristics of one for Dumoulin. The tiny Frenchman did well to take 3rd and he is now looking forward to more opportunities over the weekend where especially Sunday's stage is well-suited to his skills.

“We have had to wait many kilometers before some riders succeeded to break away," sports director Didier Jannel said.T"hen, the sprinters’ teams worked to come back on the front race in the final part.

"From our side, we were paying attention to the wind to prevent that Romain (Bardet) and Domenico (Pozzovivo) being trapped by possible splits.

"Of course, we defend our positions in the overall ranking but we don’t forget our sprinter, Samuel Dumoulin. He knew quite well the day’s finish because the route had just been slightly changed compared to last year and we were sure he was able to obtain good result on this stage.

"Sam has well prepared his sprint, supported by his teammates who have placed him well in the final kilometers. He gets a good 3rd place, the result could have been even better but it’s only postponed. There are still two stages that can smile on him if he succeeds to seize opportunities.”

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