Live coverage

Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2019: Stage 5

By SadhbhO'Shea
published

January 1 - February 10, Paterna, Valencia, Road - 2.1

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Welcome to coverage of the final stage of the Volta a la Cominutat Valenciana

Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2019 hub page
Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2019 race preview
Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2019: Adam Yates wins stage 4
Ion Izagirre close to winning first GC title in four years at Valenciana

Welcome back to our live coverage of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana. Today is the final stage of the Spanish race and by the end of the day we will know our overall winner. 

Adam Yates took victory on yesterday's queen stage with a strong performance on the Ermita de Santa Lucia. Catch up on yesterday's action with our report and results here.

Ion Izagirre finished fourth in yesterday's stage, but his consistency and performance in the opening time trial helped him to move into the overall lead, despite a valiant effort from Edvald Boasson Hagen. This is how the general classification looks at the moment. 

The neutral start has been given and it won't be long before we have racing proper. Today is very short at just 88.5km and will likely finish in a bunch sprint. 

There are no bonus seconds up for grabs today, so Ion Izagirre should be able to claim the overall victory - his first in four years. However, he just has seven seconds on Valverde and any splits in the bunch could be detrimental to his hopes. So, it's not over just yet. 

The men are racing on the same course as the women's race this morning. It was the first running of the women's Valenciana race - not to be confused with the Setmana Valenciana stage race later this month. I won't spoil the results but you can find out exactly what happened here. 

It is a little bit cooler today compared to previous days and a little overcast, but the weather forecast says that it should remain dry for the rest of the day. 

The flag dropped for racing just a few minutes ago and we already have riders off the front. Three riders currently have a small gap on the peloton behind. 

78km remaining from 88km

Here are the three escapees

Gougeard has now closed the gap to the three leaders as the advantage of the breakaway goes up to 2:15. 

This is a very short stage so we won't see the breakaway getting anything near the advantage that they got yesterday. In fact, the peloton has turned up the pace a little bit and brought the gap down a few seconds to 1:47.

If Ion Izagirre can hold on for the overall victory today then it will be his first GC win since the 2015 Tour de Pologne. Read his thoughts about yesterday's stage and the possibility of winning on his first outing for Astana, here. 

60km remaining from 88km

A lot of movement at the front of the peloton CCC Team are really putting in a big effort and Team Sky have come to help them. Perhaps they're looking to split things up.

This pressure in the peloton is cutting chunks out of the breakaway's lead. The four up front have got just 50 seconds now and they're really having to dig deep, they might struggle to get into Valencia in the lead. 

If you haven't listened to it yet, why not enhance your cycling experience this afternoon by downloading our latest Cyclingnews Podcast, here. Hear from Cavendish and Evenepoel, and the team discusses the rumours of Tinkov buying Team Sky. Don't forget, we also have a Women's Edition podcast. You can listen to that here.

50km remaining from 88km

Luis Leon Sanchez brings his leader Ion Izagirre up to the diminished peloton. They'll want to keep Izagirre well out of trouble, they may also try to slow things down a touch. 

46km remaining from 88km

The gap did grow out a small bit after Astana moved to the front but the peloton is not relenting as we enter Valencia. This is going to be fast and furious right until the last. The gap between the two groups is just 45 seconds. 

41km remaining from 88km

There are some trains forming on the front of the peloton, Movistar, Astana and CCC Team have all formed a line at the front of the bunch. 

There are a few riders in with a chance of victory today. Matteo Trentin will be looking for his second after winning on day 2. Alexander Kristoff, Nacer Bouhanni, Magnus Cort, Sonny Colbrelli, Dylan Groenewegen, Rick Zabel, Ben Swift and previous race leader Edvald Boasson Hagen are all potential contenders.

Astana leads the peloton across the start finish line for the first time. Jumbo-Visma are now moving up towards the front too. Groenwegen had a difficult stage 2, but it possibly the favourite to win today. 

We've stopped getting time checks for the breakaway, but they have started to look over their shoulders and can sense the peloton closing in. It won't be too long before they're caught. The only question is, when?

31km remaining from 88km

The riders pass the finish line for the second time and the gap continues to drop ever so slightly. The peloton keep getting glances of the breakaway on the longer stretches of road. 

It's still all go at the front of the peloton with a number of teams helping pull. However, they're not yet in top gear as they save just a little bit for the finale. We will have four riders off the front of the group with just 20 seconds of an advantage. 

Jumbo-Visma doing a lot of work on the front

19km remaining from 88km

Another lap completed and we're closing in on the climax to this race. Ion Izagirre should hold on for overall victory - barring any disasters - but who can take the stage win?

A puncture for Jay Thomson and it's a slow change of bikes for the South African as his bike is in the middle of the roof rack. He's annoyed as he is one of the important support riders for Boasson Hagen. He could still get back on. 

12km remaining from 88km

10km remaining from 88km

Astana moves to the front again with Izagirre in second wheel. He needs to make it to three kilometres to go to all but assure his overall win. 

Now that the breakaway has been brought back the pace has considerably slowed. The riders want to save their legs for the final push. 

Geraint Thomas up near the front. Perhaps trying to stay out of trouble but also working for the team's sprinters. They have Ben Swift and Chris Lawless in the pack. 

The bell tolls for the peloton, the next time the riders cross the finish line it will be for the stage victory. 

5km remaining from 88km

The pace beginning to wind back up again but the team's don't want to burn their riders too early. This is going to be a big sprint fight for the win. 

3km remaining from 88km

2km remaining from 88km

Crash in the bunch

Quite a sizeable crash

A reduced bunch challenging for the win

Trentin goes

A photo finish there but it looks like it was Groenewegen

Izagirre missed the crash and finished with the lead group. He has won the overall classification.

Here is how it finished on the stage

 

And this is the final general classification

 

Today's winner Dylan Groenewegen up on the podium collecting his reward. That was some sprint from him and he's clearly in form ahead of the Classics. 

And the overall winner Ion Izagirre.

That is it from the final stage of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana. Head here for our report, results and photos.

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