On the final, gruelling climb 1.5 km from the stage finish in the charming medieval town centre of Chieti, Joaquím Rodríguez (Katusha) darted away from a tiny group of rivals to win Stage 5 of Tirreno-Adriatico yesterday.

In the closing km, the main contenders fought stubbornly, with Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) taking a 3 second bonus at the final intermediate sprint.

Rodríguez finished 8 seconds ahead of a group of five riders, Bauke Mollema (Blanco Pro Cycling), Contador, Mauro Santambrogio (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia), Christopher Horner ( RadioShack Leopard) and Christopher Froome (Sky Procycling).

After the stage, Rodriguez explained his winning move, “I attacked this year at the point they dropped me last year! Winning today is very important to me. I’ve won her before, and I feel the Tirreno-Adriatico very deeply. This year, the strongest riders in the world are here, so winning is good for the team and for my head.”

He also added that the fight for the overall win was far from over, “It may look like Froome has won this race but Monday will be a very difficult stage. Riders like me who can’t win the General Classification will certainly attack from a long way out. In any case, going into the final time trial, a lead of 20 seconds on Contador may be enough, but I don’t think it will be enough on Nibali.”