Kaden Groves (Alpecin Deceuninck) took his second victory in as many days at the Vuelta a España, pipping Ineos Grenadiers powerhouse Filippo Ganna to the line on stage five.
The Australian, who won Tuesday's fourth stage, went on to triumph by half a wheel’s length in Burriana, beating a late charge from the World Hour Record holder with a well-executed bike throw.
With his victory, Groves cemented his status as the sprinter to beat at this year's race and extended his green jersey lead to 60 points.
The race leader, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), gained six seconds on his general classification rivals with victory in a late intermediate sprint.
“It’s a fantastic feeling," said Groves after the stage. “It was another hectic final today, similar to yesterday with a lot of roundabouts, but not much climbing at all, really.
"The factor of wind made it quite nervous, but my team was fantastic again. We had a crash and lost two guys at a roundabout with about 2.5km to go, but luckily my lead-out men were still there and we could get organised for the final.”
Day five took the peloton down Spain’s eastern edge on a winding 186.5km route between Morella and the coastal town of Burriana, just north of Valencia. The riders had to contend with just one classified climb - the category two Collado de la Ibola - on what was slated to be a simple transition day before the race's first finish at altitude on Thursday.
A solo breakaway characterised the day. Uruguayan time trial champion Eric Antonio Fagúndez (Burgos-BH) set off on a long and lonesome effort, leaving the peloton with 170km to go.
The 25-year-old nudged his advantage out to over five minutes, before he was caught and passed by polka dot jersey-wearer Eduardo Sepúlveda (Lotto Dstny) with 56km to go. The Argentine then crested the climb first to ensure another day as the King of the Mountains.
Evenepoel felt the wind for the first time with 11km remaining, when he leapt out of the bunch to win the intermediate sprint in Nules. The reigning champion’s prize was six bonus seconds, and a marginally stronger grip on the red jersey.
A crash came on the approach into Burriana, when an Alpecin-Deceuninck rider lost his front wheel and swept across the road. Unfazed by the tumble, the Belgian team kept their cool, took up the charge as planned, and delivered Groves to sprint to his second victory in a row.
Results
Vuelta a España stage five - Morella > Burriana (186.5km)
1. Kaden Groves (Aus) Alpecin-Deceuninck, in 4-23-43
2. Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
3. Dries Van gestel (Bel) TotalEnergies
4. Alberto Dainese (Ita) dsm-firmenich
5. Lewis Askey (GBr) Groupama-FDJ
6. Edward Theuns (Bel) Lidl-Trek
7. David González (Esp) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
8. Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) TotalEnergies
9. Jesús Ezquerra (Esp) Burgos-BH
10. Jarrad Drizners (Aus) Lotto Dstny, all at same time
General classification after stage five
1. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, in 17-12-29
2. Enric Mas (Esp) Movistar, at 11s
3. Lenny Martínez (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, at 17s
4. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma, at 37s
5. Aleksandr Vlasov, Bora-Hansgrohe
6. Cian Uijtdebroeks (Bel) Bora-Hansgrohe, both at 39s
7. Primož Roglič (Slo) Jumbo-Visma, at 43s
8. Juan Ayuso (Esp) UAE Team Emirates, at 44s
9. Marc Soler (Esp) UAE Team Emirates
10. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates, both at 48s
