Alberto Dainese powers to 4th for Team dsm-firmenich at Stage 5 of Vuelta a España

After yesterday’s chaotic sprint finish, the fast men had another chance today to fight for glory. After being dropped into a fine position by the team, Alberto Dainese showed a good punch and sprinted into fourth place.

The 186.2 kilometres of racing started in Morella and after a short fight, only one rider went clear to form the breakaway of the day. The gap was kept small throughout the day and even a short counterattack on the last climb couldn’t endanger the expected bunch sprint in the final. Team dsm-firmenich came through the stage in a good way, saving some energy for the final in the peloton whilst looking after each other well. On the run-in, a lot of roundabouts made it a tricky and technical fight for the best position. Coming into the final three kilometres, Sean Flynn moved up with Alberto on his wheel and both managed to escape a small crash. Sean then made a last effort, dropping Alberto into position, with Max Poole also going all in with a final pull. The Italian launched his sprint from the back and came with speed, finishing in good fourth position only a few centimetres from the podium.

Speaking after the stage Dainese expressed: “Today was quite an easy and controlled day. I was very happy that I felt way better than yesterday throughout the stage. The guys did a good job in the final to keep me behind Alpecin, but unfortunately, we lost Romain in the final after hitting something with his front wheel. But luckily, Sean was there and also Max did one last pull before the last corner to bring me into position. I made a small mistake in the last corner and was a little too far back. When I came out again, it was a little too late to catch the fast guys. Fourth is the best I could get today, but the legs were quite good, so I hope to get a better result when we get the next sprint.”

Team dsm-firmenich coach Phil West added: “Today’s stage was 50/50 really. It could have been an opportunity for a breakaway with the way the parcours was, but with a fast 30 kilometre final it was also a possible sprint so we had both options. We took a look at the breakaway at the start, but it was clear that there was no motivation from other teams and it would finish in a sprint. It was all about waiting and positioning throughout the day. We really tried to pick upon the things that we didn’t get right yesterday in terms of the teamwork. I think although we still have some things to work on to be on the top, today was a really good step in the right direction. In a really hectic final, when there were a few crashes, it was nice that we came through in a good way, because we were in a good position in the right moments. So we can be relatively happy with today.”