Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista Del Sol 2020 – Stage 5 [FULL STAGE – Individual Time Trial]

February 23, 2020

Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista Del Sol 2020 – Stage 5 ITT – Mijas – Mijas : 13 km

Who said early season races were ‘preparation races’? The 66th edition of the Vuelta a Andalucía, or Ruta del Sol, looks set to be one of the hardest of recent history, with three out of the five stages heading deep into the mountains of southern Spain, a difficult final time trial, and only one, unlikely, opportunity for a bunch sprint. Spain’s most venerable early season stage race – albeit with various gaps and changes of name, Andalucía began way back in 1925 – used to be an event where sprinters and Classics specialists would sometimes find they had as much of a chance of winning as the mountain men.

Following his best season ever in 2019, Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) got off to a flying start again in the Vuelta a Andalucia with the overall victory for a second year running – and if anything, is looking even stronger than 12 months ago.

Last February, Fugslang did not take a single stage win en route to the overall victory, and ‘only’ captured the overall lead 24 hours before the finish, but this time around the Dane has led Andalucia from beginning to end, as well as claiming two tough stage victories.

In Sunday’s final time trial, Fuglsang came within a whisker of a third, finishing less than a second behind stage winner Dylan Teuns (Bahrain-McLaren). Alexander Edmondson (Mitchelton-Scott) was third.

Off the bike, it has been a complicated start to 2020 for Fuglsang, following the unconfirmed allegations – and his categoric denial – that he had been working with Michele Ferrari. But in racing, the Dane has shown he is as much of a force to be reckoned with as he was in 2019, if not more.

Sunday’s final 13 kilometre TT stage in the coastal resort of Mijas was short, but extremely technical, with a plethora of short, punchy climbs, fast downhills, roundabouts and sharp corners, and even a short section of gravel road thrown in for good measure. Although Fuglsang had barely shown a moment of weakness in the previous four days, his slender pre-TT overall advantage of 14 seconds over closest runner-up Mikel Landa (Bahrain-McLaren) and 35 seconds on Jack Haig (Mitchelton-Scott) meant there was no room for error in this final test.

As matters turned out, Fuglsang rode a faultless TT, his bright yellow jersey of race leader glinting in the warm Andalucia spring sunshine as he crossed the mid-way checkpoint with just six seconds delay on stage leader Teuns. Fuglsang then opened up the throttle on the second half to close the gap to just eight-tenths of a second on the Belgian, while finishing two seconds ahead of longstanding provisional stage leader Alex Edmondson (Mitchelton-Scott). Never less than second on the four key stages, the 34-year-old Dane was a well-deserved winner of Andalucia’s points classification as well as the overall.

Further down the GC, there was room for some significant changes as Haig ousted Landa from the second overall spot with an impressive seventh place on the TT, 24 seconds down on Teuns. Claiming second in the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana a couple of weeks back, and 24 hours after his fine stage win in Granada on Saturday, Haig’s strong finish to Andalucia only underlines that the Queenslander is, once again, in fine form, as he heads towards his next goal of Paris-Nice.

Landa’s somewhat underwhelming finale to Andalucia should not overshadow that the Basque has clearly got off to a strong start with his new team Bahrain-Merida. Landa was the only rider who could come close to matching Fuglsang on the difficult finale of stage one, and his podium spot in what is easily the toughest of the ‘early-season’ stage races constitutes the man from Murgia’s best-ever start to the year by far.

Results :
1 Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain McLaren 0:17:57
2 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team
3 Alexander Edmondson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:00:02
4 Pello Bilbao (Spa) Bahrain McLaren 0:00:03
5 Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:09
6 Ion Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Astana Pro Team 0:00:17
7 Jack Haig (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:00:24
8 Chris Harper (Aus) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:00:31
9 Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team 0:00:32
10 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain McLaren 0:00:33
11 Matej Mohoric (Slo) Bahrain McLaren 0:00:36
12 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain McLaren 0:00:39
13 Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:40
14 Ruben Fernandez (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea 0:00:43
15 Valerio Conti (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:44
16 Thibault Guernalec (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
17 Enric Mas Nicolau (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:53
18 Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Mitchelton-Scott 0:00:54
19 Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Bahrain McLaren 0:00:58
20 Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale 0:00:59
21 Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
22 Vadim Pronskiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
23 Edoardo Affini (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott
24 Antonio Pedrero (Spa) Movistar Team 0:01:00
25 Silvan Dillier (Swi) AG2R la Mondiale 0:01:04
26 Louis Vervaeke (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 0:01:05
27 Mark Padun (Ukr) Bahrain McLaren 0:01:08
28 Hugo Houle (Can) Astana Pro Team 0:01:11
29 Jimmy Janssens (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 0:01:12
30 Kobe Goossens (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:01:13
31 Edward Ravasi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:14
32 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Total Direct Energie
33 Clement Venturini (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale 0:01:17
34 Brent Bookwalter (USA) Mitchelton-Scott 0:01:20
35 Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea 0:01:21
36 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale
37 Harm Vanhoucke (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:01:22
38 Gonzalo Serrano Rodriguez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
39 James Shaw (GBr) Riwal Readynez 0:01:23
40 Jan Bakelants (Bel) Circus-Wanty Gobert 0:01:27
41 Maurits Lammertink (Ned) Circus-Wanty Gobert
42 Txomin Juaristi Arrieta (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea 0:01:31
43 Loïc Vliegen (Bel) Circus-Wanty Gobert
44 Sander Armee (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:01:32
45 Alessandro Covi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
46 Romain Sicard (Fra) Total Direct Energie 0:01:33
47 Mikel Nieve Iturralde (Spa) Mitchelton-Scott
48 Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
49 Julien Mortier (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles
50 Kristian Aasvold (Nor) Riwal Readynez 0:01:34
51 Julien Simon (Fra) Total Direct Energie
52 Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:35
53 Orluis Alberto Aular Sanabria (Ven) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:01:36
54 Oscar Cabedo Carda (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:01:37
55 Jorge Arcas (Spa) Movistar Team 0:01:39
56 Urko Berrade Fernandez (Spa) Kern Pharma 0:01:40
57 Alvaro Cuadros Morata (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
58 Eliot Lietaer (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles
59 Simone Velasco (Ita) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:01:41
60 Thomas Sprengers (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
61 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Movistar Team
62 Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Circus-Wanty Gobert 0:01:42
63 Dries Van Gestel (Bel) Total Direct Energie 0:01:43
64 Lawrence Naesen (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale
65 Anton Kuzmin (Kaz) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:01:48
66 Bryan Coquard (Fra) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept
67 Jaime Castrillo Zapater (Spa) Kern Pharma 0:01:49
68 Floris De Tier (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
69 Lennard Hofstede (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
70 Scott Thwaites (GBr) Alpecin-Fenix
71 Angel Madrazo Ruiz (Spa) Burgos-BH
72 Willem Jakobus Smit (RSA) Burgos-BH 0:01:50
73 Pablo Bonilla (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:01:52
74 Jordi Warlop (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:01:53
75 Aaron Van Poucke (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
76 Sebastian Mora Vedri (Spa) Movistar Team 0:01:54
77 Matthew Holmes (GBr) Lotto Soudal
78 Aleksei Rybalkin (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:01:56
79 Sindre Skjøstad Lunke (Nor) Riwal Readynez
80 Paul Martens (Ger) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:01:58
81 Thomas Boudat (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:01:59
82 Brian Van Goethem (Ned) Lotto Soudal
83 Lukasz Owsian (Pol) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:02:01
84 Florian Vachon (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
85 Juan Jose Lobato del Valle (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea 0:02:02
86 Nikita Stalnov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:02:09
87 Oscar Riesebeek (Ned) Alpecin-Fenix 0:02:10
88 Roger Adria Oliveras (Spa) Kern Pharma
89 Mikel Iturria Segurola (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea 0:02:14
90 Alexander Konychev (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott 0:02:17
91 Christoffer Lisson (Den) Riwal Readynez 0:02:19
92 Edward Planckaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
93 Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
94 Sondre Holst Enger (Nor) Riwal Readynez 0:02:20
95 Petr Vakoc (Cze) Alpecin-Fenix 0:02:21
96 Julien Morice (Fra) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept 0:02:22
97 Sebastian Schönberger (Aut) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept 0:02:25
98 Ivan Moreno Sanchez (Spa) Kern Pharma 0:02:26
99 Jorge Cubero Galvez (Spa) Burgos-BH
100 Jokin Aranburu Arruti (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea 0:02:27
101 Juan Felipe Osorio Arboleda (Col) Burgos-BH
102 Stefano Oldani (Ita) Lotto Soudal
103 Benoit Jarrier (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:02:29
104 Artem Nych (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:02:30
105 Ludovic Robeet (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles 0:02:32
106 Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Lotto Soudal 0:02:33
107 Jose Felix Parra Cuerda (Spa) Kern Pharma 0:02:36
108 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles 0:02:39
109 Christophe Noppe (Bel) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:02:41
110 Carmelo Urbano Fontiveros (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:02:45
111 Jefferson Cepeda (Ecu) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:02:50
112 Jens Debusschere (Bel) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept
113 Franklin Six (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles 0:02:53
114 Taco Van der Hoorn (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
115 Amaury Capiot (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
116 Jon Agirre Egaña (Spa) Kern Pharma 0:02:57
117 Kevin Deltombe (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:02:58
118 Kevin Reza (Fra) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept 0:03:00
119 Emiel Planckaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:03:02
120 Ibai Azurmendi Sagastibeltza (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea 0:03:03
121 Sergio Roman Martin Galan (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:03:11
122 Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept 0:03:14
123 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:03:33
124 Adrien Petit (Fra) Total Direct Energie 0:03:35
125 Enrique Sanz Unzue (Spa) Kern Pharma 0:03:37
126 Jerome Cousin (Fra) Total Direct Energie 0:03:53
127 Damien Gaudin (Fra) Total Direct Energie 0:04:04
OTL Evgeny Shalunov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:05:16
DNS Thomas Leezer (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma

Final General Classification :
1 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team 17:30:01
2 Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Bahrain McLaren 0:00:14
3 Jack Haig (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:00:35
4 Ion Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Astana Pro Team 0:01:01
5 Pello Bilbao (Spa) Bahrain McLaren 0:01:44
6 Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain McLaren 0:01:45
7 Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team 0:02:41
8 Ruben Fernandez (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea 0:02:50
9 Harm Vanhoucke (Bel) Lotto Soudal
10 Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Team Emirates 0:02:59
11 Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:03:20
12 Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Mitchelton-Scott 0:03:29
13 Mikel Nieve Iturralde (Spa) Mitchelton-Scott 0:04:10
14 Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea 0:04:28
15 Chris Harper (Aus) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:05:14
16 Brent Bookwalter (USA) Mitchelton-Scott 0:05:33
17 Sander Armee (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:05:38
18 Silvan Dillier (Swi) AG2R la Mondiale 0:07:01
19 Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:07:23
20 Alvaro Cuadros Morata (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:07:42
21 Enric Mas Nicolau (Spa) Movistar Team 0:08:15
22 Oscar Cabedo Carda (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:08:17
23 Jan Bakelants (Bel) Circus-Wanty Gobert 0:08:48
24 Jaime Castrillo Zapater (Spa) Kern Pharma 0:09:07
25 Edward Ravasi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:09:14
26 Thomas Sprengers (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:10:31
27 Sebastian Schönberger (Aut) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept 0:10:57
28 Antonio Pedrero (Spa) Movistar Team 0:11:09
29 Roger Adria Oliveras (Spa) Kern Pharma 0:13:15
30 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain McLaren 0:13:40
31 Vadim Pronskiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:14:20
32 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale 0:15:26
33 Kristian Aasvold (Nor) Riwal Readynez 0:15:42
34 Floris De Tier (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 0:15:53
35 Juan Felipe Osorio Arboleda (Col) Burgos-BH 0:18:58
36 Aaron Van Poucke (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:19:29
37 Romain Sicard (Fra) Total Direct Energie 0:19:30
38 Julien Simon (Fra) Total Direct Energie 0:19:47
39 Urko Berrade Fernandez (Spa) Kern Pharma 0:19:50
40 Jefferson Cepeda (Ecu) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:19:56
41 Louis Vervaeke (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 0:20:03
42 Jimmy Janssens (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 0:20:13
43 Maurits Lammertink (Ned) Circus-Wanty Gobert 0:20:26
44 Eliot Lietaer (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles 0:20:52
45 Gonzalo Serrano Rodriguez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:21:59
46 Angel Madrazo Ruiz (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:22:41
47 Jorge Arcas (Spa) Movistar Team 0:22:49
48 Ibai Azurmendi Sagastibeltza (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea 0:23:07
49 Clement Venturini (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale 0:23:14
50 Orluis Alberto Aular Sanabria (Ven) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:23:33
51 James Shaw (GBr) Riwal Readynez 0:23:38
52 Alessandro Covi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:23:54
53 Mikel Iturria Segurola (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea 0:23:58
54 Paul Martens (Ger) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:24:18
55 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles 0:24:25
56 Simone Velasco (Ita) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:24:48
57 Lukasz Owsian (Pol) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:24:53
58 Artem Nych (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:25:28
59 Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Lotto Soudal 0:25:55
60 Aleksei Rybalkin (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:28:05
61 Pablo Bonilla (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:29:21
62 Valerio Conti (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:29:27
63 Julien Mortier (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles 0:29:44
64 Evgeny Shalunov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:30:33
65 Kevin Deltombe (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:30:55
66 Ivan Moreno Sanchez (Spa) Kern Pharma 0:31:08
67 Petr Vakoc (Cze) Alpecin-Fenix 0:31:25
68 Sindre Skjøstad Lunke (Nor) Riwal Readynez
69 Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Circus-Wanty Gobert 0:31:29
70 Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team 0:31:58
71 Brian Van Goethem (Ned) Lotto Soudal 0:32:56
72 Loïc Vliegen (Bel) Circus-Wanty Gobert 0:33:10
73 Oscar Riesebeek (Ned) Alpecin-Fenix 0:33:26
74 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain McLaren 0:34:02
75 Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates 0:34:10
76 Edward Planckaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:34:22
77 Kobe Goossens (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:34:27
78 Matej Mohoric (Slo) Bahrain McLaren 0:34:46
79 Jose Felix Parra Cuerda (Spa) Kern Pharma 0:34:47
80 Dries Van Gestel (Bel) Total Direct Energie 0:34:56
81 Stefano Oldani (Ita) Lotto Soudal 0:34:57
82 Christoffer Lisson (Den) Riwal Readynez 0:35:12
83 Lawrence Naesen (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale 0:35:25
84 Jorge Cubero Galvez (Spa) Burgos-BH 0:37:04
85 Alexander Edmondson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:37:16
86 Willem Jakobus Smit (RSA) Burgos-BH 0:37:56
87 Sergio Roman Martin Galan (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:38:08
88 Hugo Houle (Can) Astana Pro Team 0:38:13
89 Lennard Hofstede (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:38:19
90 Edoardo Affini (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott 0:39:05
91 Taco Van der Hoorn (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:40:03
92 Scott Thwaites (GBr) Alpecin-Fenix 0:40:16
93 Thomas Boudat (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:41:00
94 Emiel Planckaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:41:10
95 Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale 0:41:24
96 Benoit Jarrier (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:42:17
97 Bryan Coquard (Fra) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept 0:42:18
98 Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:42:23
99 Amaury Capiot (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:42:32
100 Jordi Warlop (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:42:33
101 Florian Vachon (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:43:13
102 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Movistar Team 0:43:57
103 Txomin Juaristi Arrieta (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea 0:45:18
104 Ludovic Robeet (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles 0:47:14
105 Thibault Guernalec (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:48:50
106 Alexander Konychev (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott 0:49:07
107 Jon Agirre Egaña (Spa) Kern Pharma 0:49:32
108 Enrique Sanz Unzue (Spa) Kern Pharma 0:50:13
109 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Total Direct Energie 0:51:49
110 Juan Jose Lobato del Valle (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea 0:52:33
111 Sondre Holst Enger (Nor) Riwal Readynez 0:53:21
112 Jens Debusschere (Bel) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept 0:54:02
113 Franklin Six (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles 0:54:28
114 Sebastian Mora Vedri (Spa) Movistar Team 0:54:32
115 Jerome Cousin (Fra) Total Direct Energie 0:55:34
116 Christophe Noppe (Bel) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:55:40
117 Matthew Holmes (GBr) Lotto Soudal 0:55:53
118 Anton Kuzmin (Kaz) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:56:35
119 Jokin Aranburu Arruti (Spa) Fundacion-Orbea 0:57:02
120 Kevin Reza (Fra) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept 0:57:06
121 Mark Padun (Ukr) Bahrain McLaren 0:57:34
122 Adrien Petit (Fra) Total Direct Energie 1:01:40
123 Nikita Stalnov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 1:02:25
124 Thomas Leezer (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 1:03:50
125 Damien Gaudin (Fra) Total Direct Energie 1:04:03
126 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 1:04:42
127 Julien Morice (Fra) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept 1:08:23
128 Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept 1:15:40
129 Carmelo Urbano Fontiveros (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 1:16:35