Vuelta a España: Tim Wellens takes victory on stage 5

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Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal) got the better of Guillaume Martin (Cofidis Solutions Credits) and Thyman Arensman (Team Sunweb) in a three-man sprint to win stage five of the Vuelta a España.

The three contested the sprint at the summit finish at Sabiñánigo having broken clear from a larger breakaway group that formed earlier in the day.

Despite the stage’s rolling terrain, there was little action among the GC favourites, with no-one opting to make an attack on any of the climbs.

There was drama on the uphill drag to the finish, however, with Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) gaining time over all of his red jersey rivals, and Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) going down in a crash. Fortunately for Martin, he appeared unhurt from the crash, managing to remount and ride to the line once disentangling himself from the other bodies to have fallen with him.

Most limited their losses to four seconds, however Hugh Carthy (EF Pro Cycling) conceded 17 seconds and slip below Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) on the overall standings. 

“It feels super good,” said Wellens at the finish, reflecting on his first victory of an injury-disrupted season. “I had a difficult period with a big crash, and it took a long, long time to find my good legs. I was a little bit scared before I came to the Vuelta, but I’m now super-happy with the victory.

“It was the goal of the team to have a minimum of one victory at the Vuelta, and it’s super nice that it comes so early, so now the next weeks are without stress.”

He and his breakaway companions had to make a big effort to get into the break following a hectic start of the stage, which even saw American Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma), sixth overall, go clear at one point.

“The start was super difficult. I think we went full-gas for two hours. I was lucky enough to be in the first group. We were not turning super good as there were two riders that were in front of the GC, but then we went away with three [himself, Guillaume Martin and Arensman] and were super-good together. I think all three of us were at the same level, but I had the kick and the end that brought me victory,” Wellens said.

How it unfolded

On a hilly parcours that looked favourable for a breakaway, there was a frantic start to the day from Heusca as multiple riders tried to get up the road.

Although a 14-man break featuring the likes of Guillaume Martin, Rui Costa (UAE Team Emirates) and Omar Fraile (Astana Pro Team) did gain a small advantage over the peloton, the intense pace set by teams who had missed the move, like Caja Rural-Seguros RGA and NTT Pro Cycling, prevented it from becoming the break of the day.

They were caught around 70km into the 184.4km stage, prompting new attacks from the peloton. Remi Cavagna (Deceuninck-QuickStep) and Andrey Amador (Ineos Grenadiers) managed to go clear, and were soon joined by Stan Dewulf (Lotto-Soudal) and Magnus Cort Nielsen (EF Pro Cycling), but a dissatisfied peloton brought them back too.

All this action meant the race was going at a searing pace, with the speed in the first hour averaging over 52 kph.

Eventually, a large 12-man group went clear consisting of: Robert Power (Sunweb), Jefferson Alveiro Cepeda (Caja Rural), Mark Donovan (Sunweb), Fred Wright (Bahrain-McLaren), Andrea Bagioli (Deceuninck-QuickStep), Matteo Badilatti (Israel Start-Up Nation), Callum Scotson (Mitchelton-Scott), Nelson Oliveira (Movistar), Guillaume Martin, Arensman, Wellens, and, most significantly, Kuss.

In sixth overall at just 44 seconds behind Roglič, Kuss was a genuine GC threat, and there was no way Jumbo-Visma’s rival teams were going to let him get up the road and gain time.

His presence in the break therefore caused consternation among the other escapees, and there were several more attacks attempting to form a smaller group without him further up the road. 

Wellens and Arensman managed to go clear, with Martin setting off in pursuit behind them.

With the gap between the Kuss group and the peloton at around 1:30 at the bottom of the category 2 Alto de Vio, 75 kilometres from the finish, Kuss was at this point in the virtual red jersey. Alert to the danger, Ineos Grenadiers set a tempo on the climb, and managed to reabsorb the American and the rest of the group halfway up it. 

Further ahead, Wellens and Arensman remained in the lead, and were joined by Martin on the climb to form a leading trio. Wellens was first over the summit, by which point they had a healthy lead of 2:46.

Rather than let Jumbo-Visma take over in defence of their red jersey, Ineos Grenadiers continued to set the pace in the peloton on the descent, and were apparently intent on keeping the breakaway’s lead in check. At the summit of the following climb, the third category Alto de Fanio, it had only grown a little to 3:23.

The time remained consistent until Ineos Grenadiers ceded control again to Jumbo-Visma at 32 kilometres from the finish. That came as good news for the three riders out front, who were now allowed to expand their advantage to allow them to contest for the stage win. 

On the final climb of the day, the category 2 Alto de Petralba, Total Direct Energie surprisingly upped the pace in the peloton. With the break now too far ahead to bring back and with no GC contender in their ranks, it was difficult to understand their reasoning. 

None of the leading trio decided to attack each other on the climb. At the top, as on both the previous climbs, Wellens was first over to take the maximum points, meaning he became the new leader of the mountains classification.

They continued to ride harmoniously together until under the one-kilometer-to-go banner, where 20-year-old Arensman made an attack. Wellens managed to close the gap immediately, and attacked on the uphill to the finish to take the victory by four seconds ahead of Guillaume Martin and 12 seconds ahead of a fading Arensman.