During the 195,4 km fifth stage of Volta a Catalunya from Alp to Valls, the bunch headed towards the coast and the overall classification changed.

Maybe inspired by the name of the city where the finish was set, Rafael Valls could exploit a good opportunity to climb the overall classification, but he was not the only competitive rider from LAMPRE-MERIDA. Jan Polanc was the first protagonist for the blue-fuchsia-team, leading the race for more than 110 km together with Watson and Bagot.

Polanc who came back to races in Volta a Catalunya after a one month break caused by a fracture of the scaphoid, tried several times to escape from the bunch in the early kilometers of the stage and finally, after 45km, he took off with two riders.

Their action was neutralized on the climb of Beltall and immediately after the end of the breakaway an echelon broke the peloton: ten riders were left at the head of the race and Valls was in this group, while top riders such as the leader De Clercq and Martin were forced to chase, but the ten riders stayed away

Valls gave a thrill to his team when he crashed in the final kilometer: he got back on his bike and he could reach the finish (11th position). The jury assigned him the same gap to Valverde as the first chasing group (+5").

In the overall classification, the Spanish climber from LAMPRE-MERIDA entered in the top ten with the 8th place, at 43" to the new leader Porte.

"Unlike what happened two days ago, Valls seized the moment and did not miss the opportunity to be in the head of the race in the key moment of the stage," Orlando Maini, LAMPRE-MERIDA's sport director, underlined. "Rafael was having good feelings and he was brilliant enough to understand that the wind could create problems, while other top riders were surprised by the echelon.

"The crash in the final kilometers worried us, but Valls is ok and he achieved the goal to enter the top ten of the overall classification. Another great performance by Polanc, who is perfect in joining the breakaways."