Stage 5
started out just like expected, many attacks and three Movistar riders in
front. Team Sky were down to only Vasil Kiryienka in support of Richie Porte
and Sergio Henao but apparently, that didn’t mean much. The strong Belarusian
lead the peloton alone for 50 km and in the end Porte won in front of my
pre-picked favorite Samuel Sanchez and Team Sky team mate Henao. On a stage
where everybody needed to distance Richie Porte, the Tasmanian ended up
distancing everybody else.
Friday’s
Team Sky show leaves us with Richie Porte as the massive favorite for both the
stage win and the overall victory. Porte has been outstanding against the clock
this season and on a demanding course for the GC riders, I can’t really see
anybody threatening him if he’s 100%.
A lot of
riders dropped out of the race on stage 5, including strong time trialists like Tejay van Garderen, Rein Taaramae, Michael Rogers and Andreas
Klöden. Only the toughest riders remain and even these will feel Friday’s stage
in their legs, especially with another day of heavy rain.
The course
is very hard with steep climbs and tricky descents. One wrong turn or one slippery
piece of road is all it takes to ruin your GC dreams on this stage, but with
the first five riders within 10 seconds, nobody can take it easy. It’s full gas
from the start and whomever dares to take the most chances will end up winning
Vuelta Pais Vasco overall. I don't think this course is good for Tony Martin and having already crashed once in this race, I think he will be a little bit more careful in the rain.
Samuel
Sanchez showed to be back in the game on stage 5 and I’m sure he will give
everything he has, and take all the chances he needs, in order to give
Euskaltel their first win of the season. Sanchez hasn’t won anything since he
won the final time trial of last year’s Vuelta Pais Vasco and he will be eager
to show he’s back.
Simon
Spilak is normally very strong the rain and he also tried to get away, catching
Richie Porte, on the final km on stage 5. Friday was Katusha owner Igor Makarov’s
birthday and even though it didn’t end up with another win (Purito won on his
birthday last year), I’m sure Makarov will settled for a spot on the final
podium. Spilak should be able to take 10 seconds on both Henao and Quintana on
this stage and if so, it’s up Richie Porte and Alberto Contador not let him
take the overall win too.
I’ve been
naming Beñat Intxausti a couple of times as my joker in this race, but his
crash on stage 1 seems to have kept him from performing as expected. Still, I
see him stronger and stronger every day and this time trial really suits him
well. He has to dig deep in order to provide Nairo Quintana with valuable time
splits and I honestly think Intxausti has a chance of winning this stage if
Porte doesn’t destroy them all again.
Favorites: Richie
Porte & Samuel Sanchez
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