The queen stage of the 2019 Vuelta a Pais Vasco consisted of 150 km from Arrigorriaga to the iconic pilgrimage church of Arrate, which today served as a finish town for the ninth time in a row.
In the first half of the race, the riders had to conquer no less than four third category ascents, before taking on the first category climb to Izua 40 km ahead of the finish. With 2 km remaining, the course went uphill again, this time featuring a first category climb, the Alto Usartza.
Numerous attacks and changes at the head of the race were seen in the first 100 km of racing, before Gregor Mühlberger and another rider were able to put some distance between themselves and the field. The duo was pursued by a 25 man strong group also containing Patrick Konrad and Max Schachmann. On the brutal climb to Izua, Gregor wasn’t able to keep up and had to fall back. However, a little while later, Emanuel Buchmann was able to make the jump into a small leading group, and from there, he attacked at the foot of the next climb.
Several riders took up the chase behind him, however, Buchmann was too strong for them and they were not able to catch up with him. With that move, he took the victory on the queen stage of this year’s race, and the lead in the general classification. Teammate Max Schachmann crossed the line in ninth position, and now sits in third overall, while Patrick Konrad took tenth position and now holds sixth place in the overall standings. Max was also able to successfully defend his blue and green jerseys, and BORA – hansgrohe currently leads the team classification.
Emanuel Buchmann: “It’s unbelievable to win the queen stage of the race, and also to take the lead in the general classification. I hope to be able to defend the yellow jersey tomorrow. I am optimistic, because we have a very strong team here. Every day, we try our best to win, and we’ll also try the same on tomorrow’s stage.”
Alessandro De Marchi of the CCC Team now leads the Mountains Classificationafter taking maximum points at the top of the first three categorized climbs on the grueling queen stage. De Marchi, who claimed KOM points during his effort in the breakaway yesterday, took advantage of the early tactics on stage five which saw the peloton tightly controlling a fast start to the race.
De Marchi looked motivated as he scored maximum points at the top of all three opening climbs and as the race headed towards the fourth categorized ascent of the day, the Italian rider had already secured the polka dot jersey going into the final stage. He will line up at the start of the sixth stage in the red and white polka dot jersey, five points clear of the next two riders.
Alessandro De Marchi: “It was a super hard stage. At the start of the day, I tried to focus on going in any breakaways and my second goal was to try to take the jersey. But, in the end, my second goal became my first one because we saw immediately that the bunch didn’t want to let any moves go.” “So, with a different type of start, I could save a bit more energy and stay with the first bunch. However, after spending so much energy in the first 90 kilometers, it was impossible for me to stay there until the end so, I took the decision to drop back and save my legs for tomorrow. We now have a jersey to defend.”
Stage 5 Brief Results:
- Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) at 3h44’04”
- Ion Izagirre (Astana Pro Team) at 1’12”
- Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) at 1’14”
- Jakob Fuglsang (Astana Pro Team) at 1’18”
- Tadej Pogaar (UAE Team Emirates) at 1’34”
General Classification After Stage 5:
- Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) at 16h23’30”
- Ion Izagirre (Astana Pro Team) at 54″
- Maximilian Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) at 1’04”
- Daniel Martin (UAE Team Emirates) 1’32”
- Jakob Fuglsang (Astana Pro Team) s.t.
Ron is the chief cook and bottlewasher at Bike World News, doing everything from website design to bike reviews.
Websites:
Bike World News
Ron’s Bike Garage
Current Bike Quiver:
Bird Bikes Zero 29 29″ hardtail mountain bike
Commencal Absolut 26″ Dirt Jump/Pump Track bike
Commencal Tempo 29″ full suspension mountain bike
Felt ZA 700c race bike
Kona Kilauea vintage 26″ mountain bike
Niner RLT9 700c road/gravel bike
Specialized Stumpjumper vintage 26″ mountain bike
Day Job: Digital Marketing
Night Job: Digital Marketing, eCommerce Consultant, Web Consultant, Bike Shop Operator, Husband, Dad, Tenor