Clever tactic sees Portuguese earn time
Coppi e Bartali| Volta a Catalunya – Friday 25 March, 2022
Joao Almeida continued his strong run of form by winning crucial time at an intermediate sprint point inside -20km to go to take the race lead by 1” on stage 5 of the Volta Catalunya.
Coming into the day from La Pobla de Segur to Vilanova i la Geltrú (206.3km) Nairo Quintana (Arkea-Samsic) held the leaders jersey though clever tactics from UAE Team Emirates would see the jersey switch shoulders by the end of the day as Almeida and Rui Costa mopped up bonus seconds.
In the final sprint it was Ethon Vernon (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) who proved quickest with Ivo Oliveira to the fore in 7th place.
After taking the 21st win of the season for UAE Team Emirates yesterday, Almeida will now wear the white leaders jersey for stage 6 tomorrow for the hilly day Salou to Cambrils (167.6km).
Young Juan Ayuso moves up to 5th place on GC, while UAE Team Emirates also lead the team classification.
Joao Almeida : “ It feels good to be leading the race. It was a bit tight in the bonus sprint, but I managed to take the second I needed. Now I’m the GC leader and it’s really nice. I think the final day will see bigger gaps for sure so it’s far from over. We had a plan in case the break was caught early today so we made a train and made a sprint for it. We made a couple of mistakes but in the end it went well. Our approach is going to be the same for the next days, tomorrow is not an easy day but the last stage on the circuit in Barcelona will be most decisive.”
At Coppi & Bartali Jan Polanc was first home for UAE Team Emirates taking 7th place from a large group won by Matthieu Van Der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) on stage 4 based in and around Montecatini (158.7km).
Marc Hirschi finished safely in the leading group to hold his third place overall heading into the final stage tomorrow from Casalguidi to Cantagrillo (160km).
Volta Catalunya stage 5 results
1.Ethon Vernon (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) 5:21:17
2.Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious) s.t
3.Dorian Godon (AG2R-Citroen) s.t
8.Ivo Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates) s.t
Volta Catalunya general Classification after stage 5
1.Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) 2:26:09
2.Nairo Quintana (Arkea-Samsic) +1’’
3.Sergio Higuita (Bora-Hansgrohe) +7’’
Coppi & Bartali stage 4 results
1.Matthieu Van Der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) 3:59:49
2.Ethan Hayter (Ineos-Grenadiers) s.t
3.Remy Mertz (Bingoal-Pauwels) s.t
7.Jan Polanc (UAE Team Emirates) s.t
Coppi & Bartali general classification after stage 4
- Eddie Dunbar (Ineos Grenadiers) 16:37:00
- Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) +9’’
3.Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) +24’’
