Omega Pharma-Quick Step rider Tony Martin saw a potential threat to the red (overall) jersey in the final kilometres of the 164.3km stage 5 at the Tour of Belgium on Sunday.

Luis Leon Sanchez (Blanco Pro Cycling Team) was ahead solo out of an original break with about 34.5km to go. He trailed Martin by 1'16" in the GC.

OPQS had worked tirelessly at the front earlier in the stage to keep the gap of the original breakaway under control. However, with 19km to go, Martin took matters into his own hands. He bridged to Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing Team) with two other riders, and those four kept the gap to Sanchez under enough control going into the final that Martin was able to secure the red jersey, despite Sanchez winning solo. Martin was 5th. OPQS also had three riders finish in the top 10 GC. Kristoff Vandewalle finished 7th, and Niki Terpstra finished 9th overall.

"It was amazing how my teammates were riding for me," Martin said. "It was really nice to stay with them. As expected the race was really hard from the beginning. A lot of attacks from the start. All my teammates had to work hard. But we stayed confident and stuck to the plan. My teammates brought me safely to the final. At the end I knew it was up to me on La Redoute. I had an eye on Gilbert and finally I could follow him. Then I had a gap that was big enough that I could more or less stay easy. At the end everything was fine, but I think it was one of the hardest stages for me and for the team. I just trusted my teammates until the very end. I always had teammates around me riding very strong, so it gave me a lot of morale. At the final I knew it was then up to me and I felt really good. I knew I had the legs and could follow the main competitors. So, I was really confident. I knew the team worked hard the whole week, and it was up to me to finish the success. So, I gave everything. The condition is good and I'm happy with the final. I have to give a special thanks to the whole team for this victory."