Vuelta a Andalucia: Pavel Sivakov secures overall victory as breakaway rider Jon Barrenetxea wins finale stage 5

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Pavel Sivakov (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) was confirmed as the overall winner of the Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista Del Sol following the finale stage 5 which saw a breakaway succeed into La Línea de la Concepción.

It was a second consecutive success for the breakaway on the fifth and final stage of the Vuelta a Andalucia, and a second win for a Spanish rider on a Spanish team, as Movistar’s Jon Barrenetxea clinched his second career victory at the age of 24.

Three survivors from the day’s early break contested the victory in La Línea de la Conception, with the Spaniard overturning two Norwegians – Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) and Johannes Staune-Mittet (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) – to take the win. 

Though Johannessen protested at the line taken in the sprint by Barrenetxea, there was no doubt about the result. Johannessen finished second and Staune-Mittet third.

With all the climbing taking place in the first half of the course, there was no opportunity for any action on the general classification during the stage. 

The peloton rolled in together and Sivikov was crowned the overall winner of the five-day race. Clement Berthet (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) finished second overall and Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) completed the GC podium in third. Both riders finished at 23 seconds behind Sivakov.

How it unfolded

Just 86 riders lined up to begin the final stage of this year’s Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista Del Sol, with Sivakov protecting a 23-second lead on the overall classification at the start of the day. Beginning in Benahavis, the day opened with a long climb of over 20 kilometres, during which a 20-rider breakaway formed, which included a number of strong riders. 

The group lost one member but stayed together over the next climb – the final significant ascent of the race – and split briefly on the descent that followed, with a six-man group finding a gap for a short while, as the race headed south-west along the Andalucian coast. 

They reformed after the descent, with 50 kilometres left of the race, while back in the bunch, UAE upped the pace and the gap plummeted under their powerful acceleration, the leader’s team shaving off over a minute to reduce the deficit to around 45 seconds.

They eased their efforts a while later allowing the break a bit more breathing room, though with Johannes Staune-Mittet (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) the best-placed rider on the general classification at 2:43 behind leader Sivakov, they remained in close quarters.

At the head of the race, Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) opened hostilities, the first rider to try and go clear, and he found some space ahead of the group with 40 kilometres remaining but was unable to stay away. His move seemed to open the floodgates though, and several attempts to split the group followed, with the gap to the bunch stretching back out to around 1:40 with around 25 kilometres to go to the finish.

As they passed through the 20 kilometres to go point, Uno-X Mobility once again drove the pace at the front of the race, pulling a group of five riders clear but once again counter-attacks from the remainder of the group prevented them from going clear, though the increased pace began to take its toll on a few of the riders who began to lose touch at the back of the group.

Eventually, a five-rider group detached itself, with Giovanni Carboni of Unibet Tietema Rockets able to bridge across to make it six. The group worked together well to carve out a lead over the chasers, which grew rapidly as the riders in pursuit continued to attack one another.

With the rock of Gibraltar coming into view, the group were eyeing victory against a dramatic backdrop, but two of them would be ruled out of contention as Iker Mintegi (Euskaltel-Euskadi) lost grip on a corner taking Thomas Gachignard (Team TotalEnergies) down with him. With Carboni dropped, this meant that the win would be decided between Barrenetxea, and the two Norwegians – Johannessen and Staune-Mittet.

With the peloton led by Ineos Grenadiers sweeping up the chase group, the gap to the front of the race began to drop swiftly once again. The three leaders rode shoulder to shoulder as they headed into the final kilometre, but it was clear that Staune-Mittet didn’t have the legs to go with the other two. 

He was first to start his sprint, but he was quickly passed, Johannessen launching his move, with Barrenetxea the final rider to launch, powering to victory as Johannessen protested in his wake, clearly believing he had been impeded.

Thirty seconds later the bunch arrived, and Ben Turner (Ineos Grenadiers) and Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) fought it out for the win from the bunch, with Van Gils taking the win, and sealing the points jersey victory in the process. Guillermo Silva (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) won the King of the Mountains classification.

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