An important day for the GC on Stage 5 of Itzulia Basque Country that got off to a quiet but fast start and exploded into action in the final circuit.
Into the final 40km and Martijn Tusveld features in a break of 9. Martijn took the sprint at Amorebieta-Etxano, claiming 10 pts and 3” bonus seconds. That group of 9 were swallowed just before the summit of Muniketagaina. Later Oscar Onley and Gijs Leemreize were in the front group as we reached the summit the second time ascending the Muniketagaina. Oscar then stayed with this lead group and contested the sprint within the bunch. However, after responding to an early attack from Carlos Rodriguez, Oscar played it safe in the bunch to finish 13th.
Coach, Phil West’s said “We’ve had 3 good days of teamwork and wanted to get something out of today. The focus for us was on what we could control. We saw some nice teamwork from the guys, so wanted to be present on the final climb to make some attacks. In the final, Oscar was present towards the front but should have waited a bit longer for the sprint. The team can take a lot of confidence from today as the teamwork was on point. And we’re looking forward to a really tough day tomorrow!”
Emīls Liepiņš is the only rider on the team who did not take to the start line this morning.