Volta a Catalunya: Laurance on Van Den Berg in the fifth stage

Axel Laurance wins the fifth stage of the Volta a Catalunya, from Altafulla to Viladecans (167.3km).

Five riders try to break away about halfway through the stage, but are caught on the Alt de la Creu d'Aragall, the last rough patch of the day, along which the main sprinters also break away.

In the final flat stretch some riders try to gain an advantage, but without managing to make a difference. A subsequent slowdown of the group means that the small group of sprinters who were separated uphill manage to rejoin.

The final sprint is very fast with Van Den Berg anticipating the times and being overtaken, right on the finish line, by an excellent Laurance . Coquard takes the third step of the podium of the day.

ARRIVAL ORDER:

1 LAURANCE Axel Alpecin - Deceuninck 3:36:05

2 VAN DEN BERG Marijn EF Education - EasyPost ,,

3 COQUARD Bryan Cofidis ,,

4 AULAR Orluis Caja Rural - Seguros RGA ,,

5 WILLIAMS Stephen Israel - Premier Tech ,,

6 KONRAD Patrick Lidl - Trek ,,

7 GODON Dorian Decathlon AG2R The World Team ,,

8 MIQUEL Pau Equipo Kern Pharma ,,

9 BARCELÓ Fernando Caja Rural - Seguros RGA,,

10 VAN DEN BROEK Frank Team dsm-firmenich PostNL ,,

Photo: Sprint Cycling Agency