The day after the terrible collective fall which sent many riders to the ground, including the three favorites of the event Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic, the Tour of the Basque Country tried to regain its rhythm this Friday. And even if it was still marked by abandonments (see below), the 5th stage between Vitoria-Gasteiz and Amorebieta-Etxano (175.9 km) was very lively. It was won in a sprint by Frenchman Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) who was ahead of Orluis Aular (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Maximilian Schachmann (BORA – hansgrohe) on the line, whom he beat in the photo finish.
Grégoire (21 years old) won his first victory in the World Tour, at the cost of a considerable effort from his teammate Quentin Pacher who launched him perfectly in the last hectometers of the race. It is also the second French victory this week after that of Paul Lapeira (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Tuesday in Cambo-les-Bains.
Before this sprint finish, this stage had taken time to take shape. We had to wait until the 82nd kilometer to witness the first difficulty of the day, with the climb to Urkiola (5.5 km at 9.4%) classified in 1st category. It was at this moment that a first breakaway composed of Sepp Kuss (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) and Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates) took the lead of the race, before be resumed 63 kilometers from the finish. But the race did not stop being eventful as many other groups of runners tried their luck, in a finale which included two climbs of the Muniketagaina hill (3.5 km at 7.3%). Finally recaptured, these breakaways gave way to a sprint, within a peloton which then only had around thirty riders.
More abandonments, Landa among them
If today’s stage offered a delightful and lively spectacle, a new fall, which occurred 94 kilometers from the finish, reminded the peloton of bad memories of the start of the season. The day after the heavy fall which saw many riders make mistakes in a turn, this time it was Mikel Landa (Soudal-Quick Step) who had to leave the event after another fall. The Spaniard suffers from a broken left collarbone. His teammate Gil Gelders and Movistar Spaniard Gonzalo Serrano also had to retire.