Tour of the Basque Country 2016 – Stage 5 [LAST 4 KM]

April 08, 2016

Vuelta al País Vasco 2016 – [Stage 5] – Orio – Arrate (Eibar) – 159 km

Edition 56 of the Tour of the Basque Country leaves Monday, April 4, to finish on Saturday, April 9. The race is a feast for climbers and puncheurs, as the Basque Country is teeming with steep hills and mountains. The 2016 edition will start in Etxebarria, while the last stage is an individual time trial in the mountains of Eibar.

Diego Rosa (Astana) braved the cold, wet roads to claim an impressive solo victory by more than three minutes over new race leader Sergio Henao (Sky).

The Italian’s long haul victory was his second pro win after another solo effort to win Milano-Torino last year.

The battle for the general classification swung back in the favour of Team Sky, with Henao deposing Wilco Kelderman, who finished outside the top 10 on the stage and tumbled out of the race lead into 8th overall at 1:07.

Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) is now just six seconds off Henao’s lead heading into the final time trial, with Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) nipping at his heels in third at 10 seconds.

Results :

1 Diego Rosa (Ita) Astana Pro Team 4:19:19
2 Sergio Henao (Col) Team Sky 0:03:13
3 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff Team
4 Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha 0:03:15
5 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ
6 Samuel Sanchez (Spa) BMC Racing Team 0:03:40
7 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 0:03:41
8 Lawson Craddock (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:03:56
9 Rui Costa (Por) Lampre – Merida 0:04:12
10 Serge Pauwels (Bel) Dimension Data

General Classification after Stage 5 :