It was a cictory for Jose Gonçalves in the 5th stage of the Volta a Portugal. After two stages in which Gonçalves was very close to the win, he finally managed to cross the finish line in first place.
It was a great performance for the Caja Rural-Seguros RGA team throughout the entire race, first with Fabricio Ferrari present in the day’s escape and then finishing off the day’s efforts with Goncalves at the finish. It was a very noteworthy performance by the Uruguayan rider Fabricio Ferrari, who was caught by the peloton just one kilometre from the finish line. José Gonçalves made the most of his opportunity to beat Delio Fernández and, in so doing, obtained his 3rd triumph as a professional rider - La Poly Normande and the Time Trial Championships in Portugal are the previous two.
The Portuguese tour is the race where the Caja Rural-Seguros RGA team has obtained the most victories since 2010, with six triumphs in total. Gonçalves becomes the 7th rider to win for Caja Rural-Seguros RGA in 2015.
Josemi Fernández, team manager, summed up the race: “A very well-deserved victory, first with Fabricio Ferrari in the escape, fighting right up to the end. In my opinion, he was the strongest rider in the escape, but I guess we’ll never know. It’s a shame because he is one of those riders who has deserved to win for a long time now.
"The rest of the team was able to ride easily all day with the confidence we felt with Fabri and with an overjoyed Gonçalves who is having a great tour and was able to win and thus confirm the great shape he’s in. I’m sure this will give him an added confidence over the next few days."
José Gonçalves, the stage winner, spoke about what the finale was like for him: “We were all calm in the peloton with Fabricio Ferrari’s escape. Once the peloton had caught up I tried to get as close to the front as I could without letting anyone cut me off in the final metres. Just 250 metres from the finish line I tried my luck and played my hand, luckily it paid off.
"Before starting the Tour I said that if I would like to win the stage in Viana. It was the victory I was looking for and that I have been chasing since the first day.
"I’m very happy, my aim was to win a stage and I finally did it. After two stages where I was so close, I persisted, and luckily, I got there. I hope this win gives me confidence, the first one is the hardest, and now that the pressure is off we can relax and continue trying.
"The team has a great dynamic and that makes us all better. There are still stages where we have to work hard for Ricardo [Vilela], so he can have a chance in the general classification, and there are also days with favourable finishes ahead, I’ll try my luck”.
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