Volta Ciclista a Catalunya 2024 Stage 5

March 22, 2024 A lumpy day on the schedule that could have gone to the puncheurs who can sprint or it could be a breakaway. Teams saw the opportunity and the fight to get into the break meant it took a long time to form. Alpecin-Deceuninck and Cofidis were doing the controlling in the peloton and were setting a rapid pace. The last climb was 7KM long and topped out at 28KM to go. Georg Steinhauser of EF-Education EasyPost went clear of the other breakaway riders as the peloton closed in to under thirty seconds. Óscar Rodríguez of Ineos joined Steinhauser but Israel-Premier Tech shredded the peloton and caught the pair at the top. Only about forty riders made it over the climb with the main bunch leaving questions about who would be there at the sprint finish. Countless attacks went on the decent and then flat towards the finish. Israel-Premier Tech tried to calm things down but the Intermediate Sprint came and caused more action. A few groups got separation and looked dangerous but someone was always there to pull them back. At 6KM, a large dropped group of over fifty riders got back on, guaranteeing a bunch sprint. From 3KM to 1.5KM to go was quite chaotic with numerous roundabouts and road furniture. In the sprint, the final stretch was wide and long. No team had control so the bunch was ten or more riders wide. Marijn Van den Berg of EF-Education EasyPost was first come out of the wheels, moving to the right side of the road. It was drag race between him and Axel Laurance of Alpecin-Deceuninck. Laurance took the center of the road and edged Van den Berg by a wheel with Bryan Coquard of Cofidis the same distance behind Van den Berg for third.