LAMPRE-MERIDA were protagonists in the breakaway and protagonists in the peloton in the 5th stage of Vuelta al Pais Vasco, 155km from Eibar to Aia.

Conti and Bono were part of a large breakaway of 31 riders who escaped from the bunch after 30km. Their cooperation allowed them to get an advantage that was big enough for Landa, one of the attackers, to win the stage.
Bono was dropped from the front during the first passage of the Alto de Aia (at 18,3 km to go) while Conti resisted until 10km from the finish.

Meanwhile, in the bunch, after having exploited the help of his teammates, Rui Costa managed to ride with the top riders in the most demanding part of the climb and to cross the finish line in 18th position, 1'14" behind the winner and only 18" behin the leader of the race Henao.

Tomorrow the riders will face the challenge of the final time trial, 18,3km with start and finish in Aia Rui Costa is 8" from the 10th place of Pinot and 1'14" from leader Henao.

Sport director Marzano analyzed the chances for Costa to enter in the top 10.

"Today Rui again demonstrated again his qualities and his strong determination on a stage that didn't suit him," he said. "The battle for the top positions of the overall classification is still open and the gaps between the riders are small.

"The first half part of tomorrow's time trial is a 9km descent, then the riders will twice cover the hill to Aia that they already did today. It will be important for Rui to be good on the descent and to set a good pace on the two climbs. The opponents are specialists in the tima trials, but Rui is able to do a good performance too."