Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana stage 5 – Live coverage

Hola and welcome to the Cyclingnews live coverage of stage 5 of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana. 

Today's stage is a 92km loop around Valencia. We're expecting a fast race and fast sprint finish. 

Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe) finished safely in the peloton after attacks in the crosswinds failed to happen during Saturday's stage and he is set to secure overall victory today.

Matteo Moschetti (Trek-Segafredo) won the high-speed sprint finish in Torrevieja on Saturday and so is a threat today. 

However we expect Fabio Jakobsen to be keen to make up for his mistake. 

As the Cyclingnews live blimp takes height the riders have just rolled out from the start.

As soon as the racing started there was a crash and split in the peloton, with even Remco Evenepoel going on the attack. However Bora made chase and the race is back together. At least for now. 

There is a new attack, with Vincenzo Nibali in there.  

The peloton is letting them hang out front at 1:00.  

The quartet lead by 1:30. The peloton have something to chase.

70km to go

After the early crashes and attacks, the race has settled.  

The four attackers are giving it big licks on the front but the peloton will surely not let them get too much of a lead. 

The four attackers are: 

Vincenzo Nibali and Manuele Boaro (Astana), Jonathan Lastra (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Gotzon Martin (Euskaltel - Euskadi).

The peloton is at 1:55. 

60km to go

The attackers almost take a wrong turn on a roundabout. 

The peloton will have to be careful. 

There's no risk of cross winds and echelons today, with only a slight breeze blowing across the loop around northern Valencia.  

Behind the Intermarche and QuickStep teams are leading the chase, for Kristoff and Jakobsen respectively.   

The peloton is lined out as they chase the attackers. It's race on. 

Trek-Segafredo are also up front ready to help the chase and so give Moschetti a chance of a second win.

To read about Moschetti's win on Saturday, click below.

Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana: Matteo Moschetti takes sprint win on stage 4

45KM to go

The riders are at the half-way of the 92km stage. 

The attackers lead by 1:20 as the pursuit match continues. 

Vincenzo Nibali has admitted that it would be “presumptuous” to think he could win a Grand Tour again at the age of 37, but the Italian is determined to make the most of what seems likely to be his final season as a professional in 2022.

Nibali returned to Astana-Qazaqstan this winter after spending three seasons with Bahrain and two with Trek-Segafredo. He is scheduled to ride both the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France and has also been pencilled in to ride all five Monuments, even if a final decision on his participation on the cobbles has yet to be taken.

“I certainly want this year to be a long showcase, but to think of winning of a Grand Tour again would be presumptuous,” Nibali recently told La Gazzetta dello Sport. 

“But I’m happy to have returned to Astana, where I enjoyed some great years. If I’m here, it’s because there’s a sense of confidence, of willingness to work.”

Vincenzo Nibali and Manuele Boaro (Astana), Jonathan Lastra (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Gotzon Martin (Euskaltel - Euskadi) are still working together but their lead is down to below a minute. 

The average speed for the first hour of racing was 49.8km/h. Ouch! 

35km to go

The riders enter an area of orange groves now and pass through the feed zone.   

The riders are on some narrow twisting roads but will soon turn south and blast to central Valencia.  

Nibali is clearly enjoying an early-season hit out in the break today. He's not an overall threat and so has decided to hurt himself, show himself and have some fun.

25km to go

The peloton is playing cat and mouse with the attackers. Their gap is back up to 45 seconds. 

The same attackers may ease off to convince the peloton to ease, and then perhaps surge again in the hope of trying to stay away.    

20km to go

The five are all taking turns on the front, moving off smoothly to keep the pace at 50km/h. 

Bora are also leading the chase as the best way to protect race leader Aleksandr Vlasov. 

Vlasov leads Remco Evenepoel (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) by 32 seconds. 

Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) is third overall at 36 seconds.

Vlasov dethroned Evenepoel on the dirt road climb to the Antenas del Maigmó hilltop finish on stage 3. 

He is set to win his first stage race on his season debut with Bora-Hansgrohe. 

15km to go

The kilometres are ticking down fast now. The attackers lead by just 15 seconds. 

Buckle up for a fast final 15km and a fast sprint finish. 

10km to go

Gruppo compatto. 

It's all about the sprint finish now.

Bora are rightly protecting Vlasov as the race drives on to the centre of Valencia and the fast finish. 

5km to go

We can expect the sprint teams to take over with 3km to go. It will be important to lead into the final sweeping corners and fast roads.

QuickStep, Intermarche and Trek are all gathering up front now. 

Remco Evenepoel is about to do a big turn on the front to help Jakobsen. 

After a loop  the riders are on a wide highway. 

This is a high-speed sprint to the finish.

Last 2km! 

There are two teams on different sides of the road. 

Last km! 

Remco lines them out and gives QuickStep control. 

Yves Lampaert takes over. 

Intermarche take over.

Swift is there to help Viviani.

Morkov leads it out. 

Jakobsen came off Morkov's wheel and timed his sprint to perfection. 

He beat Elia Viviani and Alexander Kristoff. 

Viviani and Kristoff are on form and fast but Jakobsen and QuickStep were better today.

This is the top ten.

Here's the winning shot. 

This is the final GC top ten.

This was the sprint finish.

The Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana is Vlasov's eighth career win but surprisingly it is his first stage race win. 

That's an excellent start to his time at Bora-Hansgrohe and his 2022 season.

Here's Vlasov in the late afternoon Spanish sun.

This is a shot of Vincenzo Nibali in the attack of the stage.

Fabio Jakobsen was happy to win again after Saturday's mistakes.

“It’s an honour to be part of this team. I think everybody saw today what a textbook lead is. I’m happy to have the legs to finish it off,” Jakobsen explained. 

“Yesterday I was boxed-in and couldn’t sprint. That’s frustrating for a sprinter but we had a talk and today we made a plan and stuck to it. I have to thank all the guys, we controlled the stage and did the lead out and I was the fastest."

Jakobsen has put his crash injuries behind him. 

“I enjoyed a normal winter preparation like in the years before I crashed and so I guess I’m now at this level and now we go on," he said. 

"Now I ride the Volta ao Algarve next, then Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne and then Paris-Nice."  

Jakobsen was also praising of Remco Evenepoel, who failed to win overall but who finished second behind Vlasov and worked for Jakobsen in the sprints. 

“He’s a special kid. He’s like a little brother to me. We have a special bond," Jakobsen said. 

"Him helping me says a lot about him. He’s a perfect teammate and look forward to racing with him together.” 

To read our full stage report and see our growing photo gallery, click below.

Aleksandr Vlasov wins Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana

We have more great photos from the final stage in Valencia in our stage report and photo gallery. 

This one shows how Jakobsen dominated the sprint.

This is the final GC podium. 

Thanks for joining us for live coverage from the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana.

We'll have more live coverage soon from the biggest races.