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Latvian cyclist Emils Liepins on Saturday took 82nd place in a multi-day bike ride “Back to Spain”In the fifth stage, where the victory was celebrated by the Belgian driver Tim Wellens.
On Saturday, cyclists completed the 184.4-kilometer section of the plains from Huesca to Savignano, at the end of which athletes faced two climbs of the second and one climb of the third.
Belgian driver Wotto (Lotto Soudal) beat Frenchman Gijoma Martin from Cofidis, Solutions Credits by four seconds and Tim Arensman from Team Sunweb by 12 seconds in a long run at the finish line of three athletes.
Defending champion Slovenian Primožs Rogličs finished fourth in a small lead at the top of the big group and maintained the leading position in the overall standings, but Liepiņš was nine minutes and 41 seconds behind the winner.
“I feel super good,” said Wellens, who was not on the Tour de France after a training crash at the end of August.
“I had a difficult time after the accident and it took me a long time to get back in my best form,” he said. “Before the start of” Vuelta a Espana “I was a little scared.
“We were all brilliant together in a bump,” said Wellen.
He started the sprint early in the finish line. Martin followed, but as he approached, Wellen went back again.
“This move eventually brought me victory,” he said. “The team’s goal was to win at least one victory in the Spanish tour, and it is very gratifying that it has been achieved so early. So now you can drive for two weeks without stress. ”
Roglick avoided a crash on the corner of the last climb, in which his rival, the Irish start-up Denin Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation), did less than the group.
Slovenia maintains a five-second lead over Martin, while Ecuadorian Richard Karapass (Ineos Grenadiers) is 13 seconds behind.
Liepins loses to the leader by almost 51 minutes and is in 105th place.
Sunday’s sixth leg will be a 146.4-kilometer-long ride with a start in Biescas, one third, one second climb and a first climb at the Aramon Formigal ski resort.
The Spanish tour will finish on November 8 in Madrid. The first six days of the competition overlap with this year’s Giro d’Italia.
This year, the first three stages of Vuelta a Espana were planned in the Netherlands, but due to a national pandemic, the prestigious cycling race was refused. As a result, Vuelta a Espana will have only 18 stages this year, not 21.
For Liepiņš, this is his debut in one of the big tours. The main goal of “Trek – Segafredo” in this Spanish tour is to fight for victories in certain stages. Despite the fact that the tour has been shortened to 18 stages, there will be quite a few challenges in the 47 categorized climbs and several mountain finishes. Sprinters will have the opportunity to compete for victories in at least four stages, including the last stage with a finish in Madrid.
Mateo Mosketti is mentioned as the main contender for victories in the finish sprints, but he still regains his physical shape after the injury at the beginning of the season, so the second option is Liepiņš, who is the last draw for the Italian. Right at the beginning of the season, the Dobel player, making his debut in the Trek – Segafredo team, helped Mosketti win two cycling races in Spain and finished in the top ten.
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