The Vuelta a Espana continues toward the south of Spain tonight as the third Grand Tour of the year heads towards the end of the first week of action. Join The Roar for live coverage of Stage 5 from 12:00am (AEST).
Tonight’s stage see’s the peloton head from Priego de Cordoba to Ronda – at 180 kilometres in length with little vertical rise it is the second flat stage of the tour.
The climb through the Puerto El Saltillo (which is a category 3 hill) has a peak of 885 metres but the cyclists will only experience a 100 metre rise for the day.
The peloton will reach the top of the climb with 16kms remaining but it should not affect the sprinters who will be looking to make up any lost ground on the flat stage.
As such, today is the day where it will all be about the breakaway against the peloton, and one that is notably favourable to the sprinters with two recognised sprint sections at the beginning and end of the stage.
The first is at 55kms in the town of Encinas Reales. The second, which is 121.5kms into the stage, is in the town of Campillos.
Sprinters Nacer Bouhanni and John Degenkolb will go into Stage 5 as favourites following dominant performances in Stage 2.
Degenkolb – who won 5 stages in the Vuelta in 2012 – will be looking for back to back stage wins, and more revenge, after winning Stage 4 last night.
Peter Sagan will also favour his chances and is another one to look out for on the flat – the Tour De France green jersey winner is still looking for his first stage win in a Grand Tour this year.
Will his drought end tonight? I guess time will tell on that one.
Others to look out for include Tom Boonen, Andrea Guardini, Moreno Hofland, Matteo Pelucchi and Jens Debusschere.
Australia has a chance as well with Michael Matthews a good chance to take out the stage.
After his win in Stage 3, Matthews seemingly knows how to win in 2014 and will look to continue his good form tonight.
However, as a natural climber, he will be at a disadvantage as typically the mountains dispatch of his sprint rivals.
If things go right for the Australian then he can certainly add another stage win tonight to his tally in this year’s Tour of Spain.
Stage 5 will be all about the sprinters as they are given another chance to win with a flat stage. It promises to be a frantic finish to the line in Ronda.
Join The Roar for live coverage of Stage 5 from 12:00am (AEST).
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
That is all from me in tonight's stage of the Vuelta a Espana. Thanks for joining me in the coverage of stage 5. I will be back later in the tour for two more stages. Until then, continue to check out the Roar, as we continue the live blog of the Vuelta a Espana. Until next time, bye for now.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Bouhanni complained about the way the stage ended but the officials are happy with how it finished. Cadel Evans was in the main group as well and is 12th overall. He is 34 seconds behind Matthews.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Michael Matthews retains the Red Maillot Jersey after being in the main group over the line. He will lead the Vuelta for the third straight day tomorrow.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
TOP 5: 1 John Degenkolb (115) 2nd Nacer Bouhanni (91) 3rd Moreno Hofland (35) 4th Stuyven Jasper (217) 5th Paul Martens (36)
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
FINISH - Gilbert attacks with 500 metres to go with a Giant Shimano rider and they gain a little gap over the peloton. With 200 metres to go they are caught and Degenkolb leads the charge as he starts his sprint. Degenkolb has Bouhanni right behind him and he is to the far left of the track. This means Bouhanni can't get a good run and Degenkolb already has the momentum from his sprint. He takes the stage win and goes back to back. Bouhanni needed to be on the other side of Degenkolb but it wouldn't have mattered. The German timed it perfectly and had too much power.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
1 kilometre to go - The riders need to negotiate a round about before the sprint to the finish. Here we go.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
5 kilometres to go - Tom Boonen, incredibly, gets back into the peloton group after his puncture. He had a team-mate who did a fantastic job to get him back into the lead group.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
7 kilometres to go - I'd say it is between Degenkolb and Matthews for the win. The German won yesterday's stage with Matthews winning in stage 3. Can the Aussie win today? Absolutely. He just needs a good run in the last 500 metres and get a good run at the finish.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
10 kilometres to go - The gap is now one minute and 52 seconds between the first peloton group and the second. Cadel Evans, according to the commentators, is also in the front group of the peloton. Tom Boonen has just suffered a punctured tyre. That will hurt him today as he hunts for a win in his final Grand Tour.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
12.5 kilometres to go - The gap between the two peloton groups is now a minute and 35 seconds. This day is turning out to be a horrible one for those caught up in the other two groups.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
15 kilometres to go - The riders past the final water station for the afternoon. Amets Txurruka gets to the summit first and collects points for the King of the Mountain jersey. Lluis Bonet More and Sergio Pardilla pick up the other points on offer.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
16 kilometres to go - The peloton reach the summit of the Puerto El Saltillo. The category 3 climb, and the head wind before it, have hurt some riders today. The gap between the two groups is now 55 seconds. They won't re-join the group today.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
20 kilometres to go - The gap remains at 30 seconds between the two groups. They are about four kilometres from the summit of the category climb for the day.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Thanks mate. Enjoy the stage and the coverage.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
25 kilometres to go - It will be interesting to see how the sprinters go on the climb. The pace is going to be quick because of Tinkoff Saxo. If some of them can survive then they will be in the hunt for a stage win.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
27 kilometres to go - CORRECTION - Michael Matthews is in the main group. Sprinter's Tom Boonen and John Degenkolb are also in the group. The front group are starting to climb the 3rd category hill now.
Luke
Guest
Unpredictability is cycling at it's best! Keep up the good work.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
30 kilometres to go - There are around 50 riders in the front group. Team Sky and Tinkoff Saxo are well represented. It looks like the tour leader, Michael Matthew, is in the group behind the 50 riders. He could be losing his red maillot jersey tonight. The gap is 33 seconds.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Well the sudden split of the peloton has really shaken things up. I thought this would be a sprinters day but the head wind has shaken things up. I'm predicting plenty of unpredictability for the last 30 kilometres.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
33 kilometres to go - The small peloton has caught Ligthart. Tinkoff Saxo and Team Sky are dictating the peloton now. The gap between the two groups is increasing. It has gone from 17 to 28 seconds.