Luka Mezgec (Giant-Shimano) has completed a hat-trick of stage victories at the 2014 Volta a Catalunya by winning stage five.
The Slovenian outsprinted a 40-strong selection to claim victory on a flat finish at the end of a 218.2km stage from Llanars Vall de Camprodon to Valls.
In a further sign that Giant-Shimano’s sprinting talent is not limited to the German duo of Marcel Kittel and John Degenkolb, Mezgec, who had to wait until the final race of the season to claim his first victory of 2013, has begun 2014 in style.
Today, he survived the longest stage of the race and remained in contention to unleash a formidable sprint at the end of nearly 220km of racing.
Julian Alaphilippe (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) finished second, but Mezgec was never under serious threat. Samuel Dumoulin was third.
While the stage was decided in a sprint, it was far from an uneventful affair for the GC contenders with Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) on the attack and present in the final selection that contested the sprint.
Contador is clearly relishing his best form for years and is separated from race leader, Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), by just four seconds.
He said: “The important thing was to be there. The team has been with me all the time and, as I knew there was a small port, was there to see what happened, but did not think to try. It was almost impossible because the road was very wide and there was headwind.”
Tomorrow’s 172km stage from El Vendrell to Vilanova i la Geltru is likely to be a transitional affair with no great effect on the GC before Sunday’s denouement in Barcelona’s Montjuic Park.
Volta a Catalunya 2014: stage six – result
1) Luka Mezgec (SLO) – Giant-Shimano – 5.16.00
2) Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) – Omega Pharma-Quickstep – ST
3) Samuel Dumoulin (FRA) – Ag2r-La Mondiale
4) Paul Martens (GER) – Belkin
5) Michel Kreder (NED) – Wanty-Groupe Gobert
6) Alberto Contador (ESP) – Tinkoff-Saxo
7) Adam Yates (GBR) – Orica-GreenEDGE
8) Kevin Reza (FRA) – Europcar
9) Tosh Van Der Sande (BEL) – Lotto-Belisol
10) Davide Vigano (ITA) – Caja Rural
General classification
1) Joaquim Rodriguez (ESP) – Katusha – 23.03.34
2) Alberto Contador (ESP) – Tinkoff-Saxo +4″
3) Tejay Van Garderen (USA) – BMC Racing +7″
4) Romain Bardet (FRA) – Ag2r-La Mondiale +10″
5) Nairo Quintana (COL) – Movistar – ST
6) Chris Froome (GBR) – Team Sky +17″
7) Andrew Talansky (USA) – Garmin-Sharp +18″
8) Domenico Pozzovivo (ITA) – Ag2r-La Mondiale +26″
9) Warren Baruguil (FRA) – Giant-Shimano +42″
10) Robert Kiserlovski (CRO) – Trek +48″
