Etixx - Quick-Step rider Matteo Trentin won his second stage at Tour du Poitou Charentes on Friday, winning the bunch arrival of 197.8km Tour du Poitou Charentes Stage 5 with a great leadout from his teammates. The Italian rider finished ahead ofA Bryan Coquard (Europcar) and Adrien Petit (Cofidis).

Tony Martin won the overall, after also being an important part of the leadout Trentin. Martin went into the stage with a 37" advantage over Adriano Malori (Movistar) and 38" over Malori's teammate Jonathan Castroviejo in the GC, having placed 3rd in the individual time trial the day before. 

Two leaders, who went ahead of the original breakaway clung to a 15" lead inside 7km to go. However, the peloton, led by Etixx - Quick-Step, was determined to control the race in support of Martin, and to also set up the leadout for Trentin. The team accomplished its goal, taking victory number 46 and 47 on the road in the 2015 season.

Trentin also won the points jersey thanks to his two sprint stage wins, and Petr Vakoc also won the jersey for Best Young Rider. He finished 7th in the overall classification.

"I'm satisfied with this result," Trentin said. "Today I wanted to do well, because yesterday I had a flat at 5 kilometers to go, so I couldn't try to contend the stage. So, today of course our first goal was to keep the jersey in the team. So we worked hard for Tony. I think the team did a great job.

"Then in the final, in the last lap, there was a corner at 350 meters to go. Tony was pulling for me. Just before the corner I saw Petit pass me and enter full gas into the corner. So, I decided to move from the wheel of Tony. We came out from the corner with Petit in front of me by maybe 10 meters. I used him as a point of reference. I started to close the gap meter by meter. Then I passed him in the final and was able to also beat Coquard, who was passing Petit from the back.

"I was hoping to win again but I knew it was not going to be easy. I was not certain that it would end in a sprint today. Wednesday's win obviously gave me more confidence. I was hoping to do the double yesterday morning in the third stage but I had no luck. That's cycling

"Today luck was on my side. I heard we were talking about a photo-finish but in reality it was not so close. I think there was something like half a wheel, and in cycling that is not bad. I saw Bryan Coquard was close in the last meters. He is a very good sprinter but today I was a little better than him. 

"The breakaway of the day was perfect for us. We rode all day to control but not specifically to catch the escapees. It was an ideal situation for Tony Martin for the final victory. We also wanted to let other teams do the work. But actually nobody really rode very smoothly. We simply saw big attacks with several riders. This is what allowed us to catch the breakaway. After the last climb, I tried to position myself. I had two guys with me, Tony Martin and Petr Vakoc. That helped a lot for the sprint.

"So, I'm really happy about this result. I also won the point jersey, which is only the second time in my entire career, the first time on a professional level. I will keep the jersey with me, and maybe I can add there jerseys to my collection in the future.

"As for the team, I am proud of what we did. We worked hard each day and were rewarded with stage wins and the overall win of Tony. Tony deserved it. He is a great champion who even pulled for me in the leader's jersey today. I really want to thank him and the entire team.

"Concerning Sunday at Plouay, I hope to recover from this race that cost me some energy. But we will do our best to be there and fight for another result."

"To be honest today was  a little bit harder than what I was expecting," Martin said. "Early in the race, at about 50 kilometers to go, the attacks started. So we really had to control and defend the jersey for a long time.

"The guys were great. They rode in the wind, marked moves. They did everything well and they blocked all the actions on a parcours where it wasn't easy to do so. On the final lap there was a steep climb that we had to do three times. So, controlling the race was quite complicated.

"At the end I won the overall, and Matteo won the stage. When I saw that the jersey was secured I helped Matteo in the sprint, and then he did a great sprint and he won. So, for us, we all have to say that it was a great race for the team.

"This was a nice, well organized race with a lot of spectators. This really helped with the motivation. This was a nice race to win.

"This win means a lot to me, it is a major success. My crash at the Tour de France is not that long time ago. I was not sure to be back here in very good condition. Finally, I end my return to competition with a victory. I'm really happy. 

"I want to thank the whole team who did a great job. This is a very good week for me. When you see the list of riders at Quick Step-Etixx here, it was a very big team. We hoped to win at least one stage. Finally, we got two wins, the final victory and the jersey for best young rider with Petr Vakoc. It's a good sign for the end of season. Especially as many of the riders will be present at the Woulds. We are on the right path. "
 

"Everything is going as planned for me, probably also a bit better than expected. We will see what the next races will bring. For now it is about recovering as much as I can, to try to be there on Sunday to help the team.