On a hilly parcours that favoured a good escapade, three riders used a breakaway after 100km into the 184.4km stage to battle at the summit finish at Sabiñánigo. Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal) got the better of Guillaume Martin (Cofidis Solutions Credits) and Thymen Arensman (Team Sunweb) in a three-man sprint to win stage five of the Vuelta a España.
The trio went free from a 12-rider group and gained time over the final two categorised climbs. They continued to ride harmoniously together until under the one-kilometer-to-go banner, where Wellens got the win.
There was drama in the final kilometres to the finish, as Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation), who is second overall, went down in a crash. He appeared unhurt from the small pileup and managed to ride across the line without losing valuable time.
GC leader Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma), who finished fourth on the stage, retained his overall lead. Dan Martin stays five seconds out of the red jersey, while Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers), would finish ninth on the stage, and remains in third overall, 13 seconds back.
Watch the highlights in the video above.
