Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2020 – Stage 5 [FULL STAGE]

February 9, 2020

Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2020 – Stage 5 – Paterna – Valencia : 97,7 km

The 70th edition of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana (English: Tour of the Valencian Community) was held from 6 to 10 February 2019. It was run over five stages, of which one was an time trial, covering a total distance of 647 km. It was a 2.1 event on the 2019 UCI Europe Tour. The race was run entirely in the autonomous community of Valencia, starting in Orihuela and finishing in Valencia.

Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-Quickstep) claimed the final sprint victory in the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, topping Dylan Groenwegen (Jumbo-Visma) and John Degenkolb (Lotto Soudal), with the short and fast stage posed no threat to the lead of Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates), who held on to claim the overall victory ahead of Jack Haig (Mitchelton-Scott) and Tao Geoghegan Hart (Team Ineos).

The overall classification, decided in Saturday’s stage to Sierra de Bernia, was decided by a matter of only six seconds, with Haig and Geoghegan Hart tied on time behind the Slovenian.

After his breakout podium finish in last year’s Vuelta a España, Pogacar had ample expectations heaped on his shoulders but the 21-year-old showed maturity beyond his years in handling the pressure in such a tight race.

“This win means a lot to me, especially after all the hard work we did in the winter to prepare. To start my first race and win is incredible,” Pogacar said. “My form is really good but not as good as when I was in the Vuelta a Espana.”

With the confirmation in Spain, Pogacar said he will now work toward the Tour de France with a busy race schedule.

“I’ll prepare at an altitude training camp and before my race before the Tour will be the Dauphine. I’ve got the UAE Tour towards the end of the month, then I do Paris-Nice, Basque Country and the Ardennes classics.”

For Jakobsen, the victory was a confirmation that his new designated lead-out man Davide Ballerini was a winning pairing. In a highly technical final 500 metres, Ballerini dropped Jakobsen off out of the last turn, giving no time for Groenewegen and Degenkolb to get around him.

It was Deceuninck-QuickStep’s seventh win of 2020, indicating the Belgian team has created yet another successful sprint unit.

“I’ll do a lot of races with Davide Ballerini; he will be my lead out guy,” Jakobsen said. “We wanted to start the season good, that’s why we came here to try to win a stage. I’m very happy we succeeded.

“I’m happy to be in this team because they put me in the perfect position to win the sprint and I’m happy I won, for them and for me.”

How it unfolded

With the mountains behind them, the peloton set out for the final stage of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana for a fast and fraught 97.7km stage from Paterna to Valencia – one virtually guaranteed to be for the sprinters.

Unaffected by the intense storms raging in Northern Europe, the sun shone over the riders as they headed out into the light breeze for a loop around the local orange groves.

Hugo Houle (Astana), Sergio Samitier (Movistar), Francesco Romano (Bardiani CSF-Faizane) and Jon Agirre (Equipo Kern Pharma) soon formed the break of the day but
represented no threat to race leader Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates).

The quartet never got much of a gap as Deceuninck-Quickstep and Jumbo-Visma led the peloton behind for Jakobsen and Groenewegen, respectively; with 17km to go the break maintained lead by over half a minute, as Samitier was the first to surge to keep the momentum going.

The clock continued to tick down for the breakaway as the pace heated up in the peloton and with nine kilometres to go, the Jumbo-Visma and Deceuninck-QuickStep train mowed them down.

Mitchelton-Scott amassed on the front before Lotto Soudal took over for Degenkolb – the two teams shoulder to shoulder in the numerous roundabouts along the tree-lined boulevard.

Pogacar, lacking teammates at the pointy end of the bunch, took the lead through a long tunnel with four kilometres to go before fading back when the race reemerged back into the sunshine.

Deceuninck-Quickstep got a brief challenge from Team Ineos with two kilometres to go but as is their style, the Belgian team only allowed the interlopers a brief sniff at the front.

With one tricky turn before the final straight, Israel Start-Up Nation managed to push to the fore for Davide Cimolai, but the Italian was washed away in the fight for position.

Ballerini perfectly delivered Jakobsen to the front out of the final turn and the Dutch champion had enough power to hold off Groenewegen to take his first victory of 2020.
Results :
1 Fabio Jakobsen (Ned) Deceuninck-Quickstep 2:04:32
2 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
3 John Degenkolb (Ger) Lotto Soudal
4 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
5 Ivan Garcia Cortina (Spa) Bahrain McLaren
6 Jon Aberasturi Izaga (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
7 Jaume Sureda Morey (Spa) Burgos-BH
8 Davide Ballerini (Ita) Deceuninck-Quickstep
9 Enrique Sanz Unzue (Spa) Kern Pharma
10 Matteo Trentin (Ita) CCC Team
11 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Israel Start-Up Nation
12 Ben Swift (GBr) Team Ineos
13 Juan Jose Lobato del Valle (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea
14 Lawrence Naesen (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale
15 Amaury Capiot (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
16 Vincenzo Albanese (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
17 Antonio Jesus Soto Guirao (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea
18 Romain Cardis (Fra) Total Direct Energie
19 Pello Bilbao (Spa) Bahrain McLaren
20 Jack Haig (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
21 Simone Velasco (Ita) Gazprom-Rusvelo
22 Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
23 Robert Stannard (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
24 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Mitchelton-Scott
25 Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
26 José Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team
27 Ivan Rovny (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
28 Simon Sellier (Fra) Total Direct Energie
29 Julien Simon (Fra) Total Direct Energie
30 Cedric Beullens (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
31 Kevin Deltombe (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
32 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Ineos
33 Diego Rubio Hernandez (Spa) Burgos-BH
34 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Ineos
35 Jorge Arcas (Spa) Movistar Team
36 Urko Berrade Fernandez (Spa) Kern Pharma
37 Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Ineos
38 Ruben Fernandez (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea
39 Willem Jakobus Smit (RSA) Burgos-BH
40 Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Israel Start-Up Nation
41 Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain McLaren
42 Wouter Poels (Ned) Bahrain McLaren
43 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) CCC Team
44 Ion Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Astana Pro Team
45 Fabien Grellier (Fra) Total Direct Energie
46 Daniel Martin (Irl) Israel Start-Up Nation
47 Brent Van Moer (Bel) Lotto Soudal
48 Guy Niv (Isr) Israel Start-Up Nation
49 James Knox (GBr) Deceuninck-Quickstep
50 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale
51 Dorian Godon (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale
52 Rein Taaramäe (Est) Total Direct Energie
53 Victor De la Parte (Spa) CCC Team
54 Márton Dina (Hun) Kometa Xstra
55 Sander Armee (Bel) Lotto Soudal
56 Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team
57 Oscar Cabedo Carda (Spa) Burgos-BH
58 Jaime Castrillo Zapater (Spa) Kern Pharma
59 Antonio Puppio (Ita) Kometa Xstra
60 Hector Saez Benito (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
61 Oscar Rodriguez Garaicoechea (Spa) Astana Pro Team
62 Edward Ravasi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
63 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Israel Start-Up Nation
64 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale
65 Luis León Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team
66 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team
67 Filippo Zana (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
68 Dmitrii Strakhov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
69 Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Lotto Soudal
70 Daniel Viegas (Por) Kometa Xstra
71 Cristian Scaroni (Ita) Gazprom-Rusvelo
72 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Ineos
73 Julien Duval (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale
74 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Movistar Team
75 Giovanni Carboni (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
76 Joan Bou Company (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea
77 Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea
78 Matej Mohoric (Slo) Bahrain McLaren
79 Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) UAE Team Emirates
80 Nathan Van Hooydonck (Bel) CCC Team
81 Serge Pauwels (Bel) CCC Team
82 Davide Villella (Ita) Movistar Team
83 Umberto Orsini (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
84 Thomas Sprengers (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
85 Luca Covili (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
86 Ivan Moreno Sanchez (Spa) Kern Pharma
87 Giacomo Garavaglia (Ita) Kometa Xstra
88 Jose Felix Parra Cuerda (Spa) Kern Pharma
89 Matthias Brändle (Aut) Israel Start-Up Nation
90 Hugo Houle (Can) Astana Pro Team
91 Nikita Stalnov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
92 Txomin Juaristi Arrieta (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea
93 Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Deceuninck-Quickstep
94 Mathias Frank (Swi) AG2R la Mondiale
95 Diego Pablo Sevilla Lopez (Spa) Kometa Xstra
96 Julen Irizar Laskurain (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea
97 Gonzalo Serrano Rodriguez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
98 Jefferson Cepeda (Ecu) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
99 Jon Agirre Egaña (Spa) Kern Pharma
100 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Lotto Soudal
101 Tsgabu Gebremaryam Grmay (Eth) Mitchelton-Scott
102 Kevin Inkelaar (Ned) Bahrain McLaren
103 Rodrigo Contreras Pinzon (Col) Astana Pro Team
104 Tim Declercq (Bel) Deceuninck-Quickstep
105 Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Mitchelton-Scott
106 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Deceuninck-Quickstep
107 Cristian Rodriguez Martin (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
108 Remy Mertz (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:23
109 Aaron Verwilst (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
110 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Israel Start-Up Nation
111 Isaac Canton Serrano (Spa) Burgos-BH
112 Jorge Cubero Galvez (Spa) Burgos-BH
113 Jonas Gregaard Wilsly (Den) Astana Pro Team
114 David De la Cruz Melgarejo (Spa) UAE Team Emirates
115 Alejandro Osorio Carvajal (Col) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
116 Kenny De Ketele (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
117 Jos Van Emden (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
118 Sergio Samitier Samitier (Spa) Movistar Team
119 Evgeny Shalunov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
120 Pascal Eenkhoorn (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
121 Frederik Frison (Bel) Lotto Soudal
122 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma
123 Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Team Jumbo-Visma
124 Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) CCC Team 0:00:55
125 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Ineos 0:01:02
126 Michael Albasini (Swi) Mitchelton-Scott 0:01:10
127 Stijn Steels (Bel) Deceuninck-Quickstep 0:01:13
128 Paul Martens (Ger) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:01:17
129 Francesco Romano (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
130 Emiel Planckaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
131 Alvaro Cuadros Morata (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
132 Sergio Nestor Araiz Michel (Spa) Kern Pharma 0:01:21
133 Michael Schär (Swi) CCC Team
134 Jeremy Cabot (Fra) Total Direct Energie
135 Callum Scotson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
136 Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Spa) Team Ineos
137 Scott Davies (GBr) Bahrain McLaren 0:02:40

Final General Classification :
1 Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 18:43:00
2 Jack Haig (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:00:06
3 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Ineos
4 Daniel Martin (Irl) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:00:13
5 Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain McLaren 0:00:23
6 Wouter Poels (Ned) Bahrain McLaren 0:00:25
7 Ion Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Astana Pro Team 0:00:32
8 Ruben Fernandez (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea 0:00:49
9 Oscar Rodriguez Garaicoechea (Spa) Astana Pro Team 0:01:11
10 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 0:01:14
11 Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Ineos 0:01:19
12 Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team 0:01:22
13 James Knox (GBr) Deceuninck-Quickstep
14 Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:36
15 Sander Armee (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:01:43
16 Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea 0:01:46
17 Victor De la Parte (Spa) CCC Team 0:01:47
18 Pello Bilbao (Spa) Bahrain McLaren 0:01:49
19 Oscar Cabedo Carda (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:01:53
20 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) CCC Team 0:01:55
21 Serge Pauwels (Bel) CCC Team 0:02:11
22 Jefferson Cepeda (Ecu) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:02:58
23 Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Lotto Soudal 0:03:09
24 Matej Mohoric (Slo) Bahrain McLaren 0:03:23
25 Márton Dina (Hun) Kometa Xstra 0:03:27
26 Rein Taaramäe (Est) Total Direct Energie 0:03:36
27 Mathias Frank (Swi) AG2R la Mondiale 0:03:39
28 Julien Simon (Fra) Total Direct Energie 0:04:08
29 Ben Swift (GBr) Team Ineos 0:04:44
30 Rodrigo Contreras Pinzon (Col) Astana Pro Team 0:05:04
31 Jon Agirre Egaña (Spa) Kern Pharma 0:05:40
32 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Ineos 0:05:51
33 Joan Bou Company (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea 0:05:57
34 Kevin Deltombe (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:06:10
35 Davide Villella (Ita) Movistar Team 0:06:22
36 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:06:23
37 Dmitrii Strakhov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:06:47
38 Hugo Houle (Can) Astana Pro Team 0:07:04
39 David De la Cruz Melgarejo (Spa) UAE Team Emirates 0:07:06
40 Luca Covili (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’ 0:07:25
41 Willem Jakobus Smit (RSA) Burgos-BH 0:07:48
42 Luis León Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team 0:07:50
43 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale 0:08:06
44 Txomin Juaristi Arrieta (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea 0:08:21
45 Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Deceuninck-Quickstep 0:08:41
46 Urko Berrade Fernandez (Spa) Kern Pharma 0:08:59
47 Dorian Godon (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale 0:09:26
48 Nathan Van Hooydonck (Bel) CCC Team 0:10:20
49 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:10:34
50 Tim Declercq (Bel) Deceuninck-Quickstep 0:11:09
51 Davide Ballerini (Ita) Deceuninck-Quickstep 0:11:39
52 Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:11:40
53 Matthias Brändle (Aut) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:12:19
54 Michael Schär (Swi) CCC Team 0:12:22
55 Ivan Moreno Sanchez (Spa) Kern Pharma 0:12:34
56 Francesco Romano (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’ 0:13:03
57 José Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team 0:13:04
58 Robert Stannard (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:13:29
59 Cristian Scaroni (Ita) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:13:33
60 Brent Van Moer (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:14:16
61 Gonzalo Serrano Rodriguez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:14:28
62 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Movistar Team 0:14:39
63 Jose Felix Parra Cuerda (Spa) Kern Pharma 0:14:41
64 Evgeny Shalunov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:15:14
65 Simone Velasco (Ita) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:15:34
66 John Degenkolb (Ger) Lotto Soudal 0:15:42
67 Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Mitchelton-Scott 0:15:45
68 Stijn Steels (Bel) Deceuninck-Quickstep 0:15:50
69 Ivan Garcia Cortina (Spa) Bahrain McLaren 0:16:20
70 Diego Rubio Hernandez (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:16:29
71 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Ineos 0:16:53
72 Jonas Gregaard Wilsly (Den) Astana Pro Team 0:17:12
73 Alvaro Cuadros Morata (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:17:30
74 Frederik Frison (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:17:31
75 Fabio Jakobsen (Ned) Deceuninck-Quickstep 0:17:35
76 Matteo Trentin (Ita) CCC Team 0:17:40
77 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Mitchelton-Scott 0:17:42
78 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Ineos 0:17:44
79 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Deceuninck-Quickstep 0:17:48
80 Tsgabu Gebremaryam Grmay (Eth) Mitchelton-Scott 0:18:03
81 Jon Aberasturi Izaga (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:18:53
82 Alejandro Osorio Carvajal (Col) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:18:54
83 Romain Cardis (Fra) Total Direct Energie 0:19:26
84 Thomas Sprengers (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:19:30
85 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates 0:19:35
86 Remy Mertz (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:20:19
87 Fabien Grellier (Fra) Total Direct Energie 0:20:20
88 Michael Albasini (Swi) Mitchelton-Scott 0:21:09
89 Antonio Jesus Soto Guirao (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea 0:21:17
90 Jorge Arcas (Spa) Movistar Team 0:21:55
91 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale 0:22:00
92 Callum Scotson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:22:37
93 Edward Ravasi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:22:47
94 Guy Niv (Isr) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:22:48
95 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:23:09
96 Ivan Rovny (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:23:23
97 Jaume Sureda Morey (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:24:07
98 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:24:13
99 Aaron Verwilst (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:24:14
100 Lawrence Naesen (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale 0:24:22
101 Nikita Stalnov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:24:59
102 Amaury Capiot (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:25:05
103 Umberto Orsini (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
104 Vincenzo Albanese (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’ 0:25:13
105 Enrique Sanz Unzue (Spa) Kern Pharma 0:25:39
106 Giovanni Carboni (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’ 0:26:00
107 Scott Davies (GBr) Bahrain McLaren 0:27:10
108 Julien Duval (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale 0:27:25
109 Daniel Viegas (Por) Kometa Xstra 0:27:29
110 Filippo Zana (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’ 0:27:36
111 Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) UAE Team Emirates 0:27:38
112 Juan Jose Lobato del Valle (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea 0:27:57
113 Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Spa) Team Ineos 0:27:59
114 Cristian Rodriguez Martin (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:28:00
115 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:28:05
116 Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:28:29
117 Sergio Samitier Samitier (Spa) Movistar Team 0:28:37
118 Simon Sellier (Fra) Total Direct Energie 0:28:42
119 Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) CCC Team
120 Cedric Beullens (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:28:56
121 Jos Van Emden (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:29:23
122 Jorge Cubero Galvez (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:29:36
123 Kevin Inkelaar (Ned) Bahrain McLaren 0:31:00
124 Paul Martens (Ger) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:31:04
125 Diego Pablo Sevilla Lopez (Spa) Kometa Xstra 0:32:18
126 Isaac Canton Serrano (Spa) Burgos-BH
127 Jaime Castrillo Zapater (Spa) Kern Pharma 0:32:56
128 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:33:20
129 Hector Saez Benito (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:33:36
130 Julen Irizar Laskurain (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea 0:34:37
131 Pascal Eenkhoorn (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:34:51
132 Antonio Puppio (Ita) Kometa Xstra 0:34:56
133 Jeremy Cabot (Fra) Total Direct Energie 0:35:14
134 Kenny De Ketele (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:35:20
135 Sergio Nestor Araiz Michel (Spa) Kern Pharma 0:36:04
136 Emiel Planckaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:37:10
137 Giacomo Garavaglia (Ita) Kometa Xstra 0:40:56