Great triumph in the queen stage of Catalunya

Great show in the fifth stage of the Volta a Catalunya, considered the most difficult day in the calendar of this 97th edition. Alejandro Valverde has imposed himself on the top of Lo Port, in Tortosa, finishing off the great work of Movistar Team in the last climb. The rider from Murcia has left Chris Froome and Alberto Contador with a very strong attack before the last kilometer of the race. Previously, Marc Soler had hardened the climb trying to distance the leader of the general, the American Tejay Van Garderen .

Quotes: “It was a spectacular day for both myself and the team, I’m so glad I could finish this off. It was an amazing day, all thanks to my team-mates. We kept full focus in the dangerous part of the stage, exposed to the wind, and all over the stage I had different team-mates surrounding me. At the final climb, Rubén Fernández and Marc Soler did a sensational job for me. From the very foot of the climb I was feeling like I had good legs, and I asked them to go on full steam for as long as they could. At the final two kilometers, I sought for my distance and launched the move with a pace I could hold until the line”.

With this victory, Alejandro also becomes the new leader of the general classification, with a 21 seconds lead over Chris Froome and 47 seconds over Alberto Contador. There are still two complicated stages where Movistar Team will have to work hard to defend the first position. The first one, this Saturday with arrival to Reus and the ascent to La Musara and the last one, on Sunday, in Barcelona with its already traditional circuit of Montjuic.

Photo: Movistar Team / Photo Gómez Sport