Vuelta a España 2024

Stage 5 – Fuente del Maestra > Sevilla (177km)

Wed 21st Aug | KM0: 13:34 CET

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Stage 5 Preview

Where: Leaving Extremadura and travelling south to the capital of Andalusia, Seville.

Stage Type: Flat – in fact, the only designated flat stage of the whole Vuelta.

Weather: Scorchio! Maybe touching 40˚C.

Climbs: A few ups and downs and still over 2,000m of elevation gain but nothing to worry the fast men.

Start: Steady rising ground for the first 20km should allow the break to be well policed.

Finish: A double right-hander with 3.5km to go then straight and flat all the way to the line.

Stage suits: Sprinters.

Breakaway chances: Pretty much zero.

What will happen?: A small breakaway will be kept on a tight leash by Alpecin-Deceuninck and Visma Lease a Bike before being brought back for a bunch finish.

Stage 5 Contenders

Kaden Groves (11/10, 2.1) won stage 2 without a leadout then fell short on stage 3 with one – sometimes it’s not always to your benefit, especially if you run out of firepower inside the last 300m. Had to slow and come around Van Aert on stage 3 by which time it was too late. Remains the fastest and if Alpecin-Deceuninck nail the leadout, should win.

Wout van Aert (6/4; 2.5) got the jump on Groves with an early launch on stage 3 and pinned him near the barrier with nowhere to go – a clever ride and a huge relief after several near misses at the Tour de France. Price looks a bit short for him to pull it off again, but difficult to oppose a rider like Van Aert.

Pavel Bittner (12/1) has finished sixth and fifth in the two sprints – can he make the frame this time? The intermediate sprint is only 25km from home which both Groves and Van Aert will contest, so Bittner and others can hope that this blunts their legs and levels the playing field somewhat.

Arne Marit (12/1) didn’t get much luck in running on stage 2 but found a great position on Van Aert’s wheel on stage 3 before running out of legs a bit and finishing fourth. This flatter finish may benefit him and a place finish is certainly within reach.

Jon Aberasturi (16/1) finished an excellent third on stage 3 and the veteran sprinter seems sure to be in the mix again.

Corbin Strong (16/1) would prefer a much tougher parcours which may leave him vulnerable to faster finishers.

Stage 5 Bets

It’s difficult to see past the front two and it really could go either way. Leadout tactics and the timing of the sprint will be critical in determining who gets their arms in the air. But on balance, I’d much rather be on the faster man – a second stage win for Kaden Groves.

Kaden Groves 2pts win @11/10

Posted 21:32 BST Tue 20th Aug 2024

Prices quoted are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change

Stage 5 Result

1st Pavel Bittner (12/1)

2nd Wout van Aert (6/4)

3rd Kaden Groves (11/10F)

[Tour de France stage profiles reproduced by kind permission of Ben Lowe at Veloviewer.com]