Wednesday looks to be a day for the sprinters at the Vuelta a España as stage 5 rolls south into Andalusia for a flat finish in downtown Sevilla. Temperatures pushed 40C degrees on Tuesday and the same heat will be present for the 170km from the start in Fuente del Maestre with a series of uncategorised rollers.
There is just one sprint bonification on the route at La Algaba, with 6, 4 and 2 bonus seconds on offer. Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) have already distanced other riders in the green jersey competition by more than 70 points, and Van Aert now has the lead, 111 points to 105.
The bonus points at La Algaba also serve as a signal for the final 14.6km to the finish line, where the two sprinters should be in the mix of a bunch rush for a stage win. It could very well be a third time in just five days for Van Aert and Groves to go 1-2 for a third time at this Vuelta, one of them riding away with a second stage win.
The peloton will have to negotiate a few sharp corners once in the city limits. First is a roundabout at Avenue Portugal that swings away from the University of Sevilla and leads to a right-hand turn to Avenues de la Borbolla and Manuel Siurot. After a fast, flat 1km down Avenue Manuel Siurot, there are two quick right-hand corners, almost a U-turn configuration, to redirect the peloton to the final 3.5km.
The finale will follow the wide Avenue de la Palmera that goes through María Luisa Park and beside the Guadalquivir River. The sprinters’ teams will have their work cut out to carry riders through the city streets to this point and then it should be a fast bunch barrage to the line.
The Vuelta hasn't been to Sevilla in 14 years. In 2010 the Sevillian capital served as the host for the Grand Tour’s opening stage, which was an evening team time trial. Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad) became the first-ever wearer of the maillot rojo, introduced that year in place of the golden jersey that had been awarded since 1999.
