Axel Laurance, a great promise shine at Viladecans
March 21 st 2024 - 18:50 [GMT + 1]
The reigning U23 world champion, Axel Laurance (Deceuninck-Alpecin) won the fifth stage of the Volta a Catalunya 2024 on Friday, March 22, a very fast day of 167.3 kilometers between Altafulla and Viladecans The Style Outlets. The stage has lived an intense fight for the stage victory throughout the day, finally resolved in favor of the young Frenchman, just 22 years old, who has been able to overcome Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost), the winner of the previous day, and his compatriot Bryan Coquard (Cofidis).
From the Costa Daurada to Baix Llobregat, the fifth stage of the 103rd edition of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya promised a nervous day with an intense fight for the breakaway, as it turned out to be. A very fast stage, in which the cyclists completed the course at around 46.5 km/h despite the complications of a route that overcame some of dificult terrain of the Penedès and Baix Llobregat, with two 2nd category passes: the Coll de les Ventoses and the Alt de la Creu d' Aragall.
By the first of the passes, no breakaway had been able to consolidate, given the thrust of the peloton, which neutralized a first powerful group that had stood out, with important names such as Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) or Attila Valter (Visma-Lease en Bike). It was not until the second half of the stage that a group of six riders stood out and reached the foot of the last difficulty of the day, the Alt de la Creu d' Aragall, which was crowned 30 kilometers from the finish.
The young German Georg Steinhauser (EF Education-EasyPost) and the Navarrese Oscar Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers), designated by popular vote as the most combative cyclist of the day, were the most resistant of the group, reaching the top of the pass with a few seconds of advantage over an increasingly reduced peloton in which teams like Israel-Premier Tech, Cofidis or Alpecin-Deceuninck were working, who trusted in their fast men to dispute the victory at the arrival of Viladecans The Style Outlets.
Finally, nothing could prevent the sprint at the finish in the city of Baix Llobregat, where the reigning U23 world champion, who had already fought for victory at the finishes in Sant Feliu de Guíxols and Lleida, was the fastest, taking the victory ahead of Dutchman Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost), the winner of the previous day, and his compatriot Bryan Coquard (Cofidis).
After two days without changes in the general classification, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) will defend tomorrow his lead in the general classification of the Volta a Catalunya in one of its most anticipated stages: the sixth, an explosive stage of 154.7 kilometers between Berga and the Santuari de Queralt in which five passes will be climbed that will show all the cycling potential of the Berguedà region, highlighting the competition debut of the dreaded Coll de Pradell.
