"I got back in the leader group, I took a breath and I attacked."

Those were the words of Paolo Tiralongo after stage five Volta Ciclista a Catalunya. Tiralongo and his teammates worked all day long to protect Fabio Aru and in the final he was with the captain in the top position.

Tiralongo finished third after a very fast and windy stage won by Alejandro Valverde of Spain.

Miguel Lopez left the race early with knee pain brought on by cold temperatures and a heavy mountain stage. The young Colombian made a successful debut and did impressive work this week in his first European professional race.

Aru recovered another position and is now sixth in overall classification with a 27s gap to the new leader Richie Porte of Australia.