The fifth and final stage of the Circuit de Lorraine was won by Frenchman Anthony Roux (Française des Jeux) in a bunch sprint, with Italian Fabio Felline (Footon-Servetto) coming second and Lloyd Mondory (AG2R) third. Felline, who has been wearing the yellow jersey since stage two, has won the overall event in front of Frenchman Pierre Rolland (Bouygues-Telecom) and fellow Italian Matteo Carrara (Vacansoleil).
Similarly to the previous days, the last stage from Metz to Hayange was very nervous and fast, with one attack leading to another. Those breakaways who managed to get a gap soon were caught for lack of cooperation, and the stage came down to a sprint.
Felline, 20 years of age, not only took the overall honours but also two stages of the event - no bad for the Italian's first competition in France. "I came to get some racing kilometres into my legs, and to train," the Footon-Servetto rider commented.
"With the help of my team, which did a great job throughout the race, I achieved a great victory. It's fantastic. Now, I will be at the start of the Tour de Suisse."
-
'I survived' - Vuelta a España leader Jonas Vingegaard looks for bright spots after low-key performance on second to last summit finish
Dane claims fourth, adds two seconds to overall advantage on João Almeida -
'I sacrificed the stage' - Tom Pidcock says podium now top target at Vuelta a España's final week
Briton races conservatively on Alto de El Morredero, finally claiming second -
'Jonas wasn't super, but neither was I' - stalemate on Vuelta a España summit finish as neither João Almeida nor leader Vingegaard attack
Current runner-up on Vuelta GC briefly dropped but remains in contention -
As it happened: Vuelta a España best young rider takes his first Grand Tour win amid Vingegaard-Almeida stalemate on stage 17
Giulio Pellizzari wins atop the Alto de El Morredero as only minor changes on the GC behind him
