The fifth stage was characterized by constant attacks and the determination of the main pack not to allow
any kind of breakaway. Everyone wanted to be at the head of the pack and the subsequent counter-attacks wound up neutralizing
the riders who wanted to get ahead.
After 70 kilometers a group of nearly ten riders did manage to break away, one of them was Dutch rider Karsten
Kroon (CSC), who later wound up being the main figure of the day. Kroon finally broke free in the company of Angel López (Saunier
Duval), who wasn't able to maintain the pace of the Dutch rider after a few kilometers and Kroon ended up going off alone.
But behind him, the Madrid-born rider José Angel Gómez Marchante (Sauner Duval) attacked in the middle of the climb
up La Palombera and that brought an immediate reaction from the main group of riders. Marchante was caught in the final kilometres,
on the descent from La Palombera, but the pace of the pack brought it within a stone’s throw of Kroon, who was caught
about 4 kilometers for the finishline.
Rabobank's sports director Breukink said: "Oscar [Freire] showed more signs of fear for the second-category
climbs, than for that final first-category ascent. 'If I can conquer those, I will have a chance to win,' he said. And those
words proved prophetic. Nevertheless, the team still had to work hard in order to hunt down Karsten Kroon, because he was
riding a very strong finale. Oscar kept saying that the gap with the escapees had to be minimized to less than two minutes
on the top of the final climb. We were able to do that."
Subsequently, Freire topped off the great work of his team, which had made the tempo in the front ranks of
the pack from the foot of the final col (1st category) until the finish.
Oscar Freire has now set a new goal for the 2007 Vuelta: "I’ll settle for one more", he explained in
response to the question of how far he could go in the great Spanish event. The native of Cantabria summed up the stage perfectly:
"We took off so fast that no one was able to escape. The idea was that a breakaway had to come sometime, but I saw the attempts
weren’t being completed, I felt good and asked my team to work for me. They did that and at the end things worked out
well, but I have to admit I put out a lot more effort and energy". About that final stretch in Reinosa, Freire explains: "I
wasn’t in great position when I came into the home stretch but at the end I was able to come from behind, although it
was more from the desire to win at home than any other reason. La Palombera was very tough on me, very long, and possibly
Bettini arrived with a bit more left in him, but I’m faster than he is and fortunately I was able to win."
CSC sports director Kim Andersen said: "Karsten [Kroon] really did all he could and it was definitely
a serious attempt at what would've been a fantastic stage win. He's almost peaking and luckily it wasn't all for nothing out
there today, because thanks to his hard work the rest of the team was able to take it easy at the back of the peloton and
let the other teams do most of the work."
The fifth stage of the Vuelta produced no changes among the leaders of the various classifications. In the
overall standings Efimkin continues to lead Menchov, Sastre and Devolder by one minute and six seconds. And in the overall
team classification, the time margin earned by Caisse d’Epargne at the summit of Los Lagos de Covadonga yesterday remains
the same. In the points classification, Oscar Freire is even further ahead following his victory today. The same happened
in the mountain classification, the section where Serafín Martínez picked up more points today, although it is quite likely
the young Galician rider may choose to withdraw when the great stages in the Pyrenees arrive. Right now, no one can deny
his fighting spirit. Vladimir Efimkin defended his lead in the combination classification.
Results
Stage 5
1 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank
4.07.51 (38.0 km/h)
2 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Lampre - Fondital
3 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quickstep - Innergetic
4 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française des Jeux
5 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram
6 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone
7 Xavier Florencio (Spa) Bouygues Telecom
8 Josep Jufré (Spa) Predictor - Lotto
9 René Mandri (Est) AG2r Prévoyance
10 David García (Spa) Karpin Galicia
11 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas
12 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) AG2r Prévoyance
13 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner
14 Dionisio Galparsoro (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
15 Scott Davis (Aus) T-Mobile Team
16 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
17 Inaki Isasi Flores (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
18 Samuel Sánchez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
19 Cadel Evans (Aus) Predictor - Lotto
20 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole
21 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC
22 Roy Sentjens (Ned) Predictor - Lotto
23 Ludovic Turpin (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
24 Stephan Schreck (Ger) T-Mobile Team
25 Jérémy Roy (Fra) Française des Jeux
26 Renaud Dion (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
27 Ruben Lobato Elvira (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir
28 Manuel Beltrán (Spa) Liquigas
29 Bart Dockx (Bel) Predictor - Lotto
30 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone
31 Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Team CSC
32 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
33 Luis Perez Rodriguez (Spa) Andalucia - Cayasur
34 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank
35 Daniel Moreno (Spa) Relax - Gam
36 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne
37 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team CSC
38 Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
39 Mario Aerts (Bel) Predictor - Lotto
40 Bingen Fernandez (Spa) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone
41 Ezequiel Mosquera Miguez (Spa) Karpin Galicia
42 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
43 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne
44 Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Liquigas
45 Iker Camaño (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir
46 Mauricio Alberto Ardila (Col) Rabobank
47 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC
48 Luis Leon Sanchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
49 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas
50 Carlos Barredo (Spa) Quickstep - Innergetic
51 Christophe Kern (Fra) Crédit Agricole
52 Jason McCartney (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
53 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Quickstep - Innergetic
54 Stef Clement (Ned) Bouygues Telecom
55 Stéphane Goubert (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
56 Inigo Landaluze (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
57 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone
58 David López (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
59 Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Gerolsteiner
60 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Lampre - Fondital
61 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
62 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Française des Jeux
63 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Gerolsteiner
64 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Team CSC
65 Igor Antón (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
66 Andrea Tonti (Ita) Quickstep - Innergetic
67 Manuel Vazquez Huesco (Spa) Andalucia - Cayasur
68 Jesús Hernández (Spa) Relax - Gam
69 José Ángel Gómez Marchante (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir
70 Wim Van Huffel (Bel) Predictor - Lotto
71 Chris Horner (USA) Predictor - Lotto
72 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner
73 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas
74 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Team CSC
75 Andrea Moletta (Ita) Gerolsteiner
76 David Herrero Llorente (Spa) Karpin Galicia
77 Egoi Martinez (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
78 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
79 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Rabobank
80 Joost Posthuma (Ned) Rabobank
81 Morris Possoni (Ita) Lampre - Fondital
82 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saunier Duval - Prodir
83 Giuseppe Guerini (Ita) T-Mobile Team
84 David Loosli (Swi) Lampre - Fondital
85 Iñigo Cuesta (Spa) Team CSC
86 Jose Ruiz Sanchez (Spa) Andalucia - Cayasur
87 Joan Horrach (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
88 Addy Engels (Ned) Quickstep - Innergetic
89 Martin Müller (Ger) Team Milram
90 Theo Eltink (Ned) Rabobank
91 Geert Verheyen (Bel) Quickstep - Innergetic
92 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Lampre - Fondital
0.18
93 Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 0.59
94
Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC
2.25
95 Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas
5.58
96 Francisco Jose Martinez (Spa) Andalucia - Cayasur
97 José Luis Carrasco (Spa) Andalucia - Cayasur
98 Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone
99 Cyrille Monnerais (Fra) Française des Jeux
100 Juan Olmo Menacho (Spa) Andalucia - Cayasur
101 Mickael Delage (Fra) Française des Jeux
102 Marc De Maar (Ned) Rabobank
103 Marco Velo (Ita) Team Milram
104 Gustavo César (Spa) Karpin Galicia
105 Julian Sanchez Pimienta (Spa) Relax - Gam
106 Adam Hansen (Aus) T-Mobile Team
107 Torsten Hiekmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner
108 Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Quickstep - Innergetic
109 José Luis Arrieta (Spa) AG2r Prévoyance
110 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team CSC
111 Allan Davis (Aus) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
112 Bert Grabsch (Ger) T-Mobile Team
8.42
113 Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Karpin Galicia
114 Manuel Ortega Ocana (Spa) Andalucia - Cayasur
115 Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Lampre - Fondital
116 Francisco Terciado Sacedo (Spa) Relax - Gam
117 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - Fondital
118 Ángel Gómez Gómez (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir
119 Erki Pütsep (Est) Bouygues Telecom
12.05
120 Alberto Ongarato (Ita) Team Milram
121 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Team Milram
122 Arkaitz Durán (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir
123 José Luis Rubiera (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
124
Koldo Fernandez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
125 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir
126 Stéphane Augé (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone
127 Gustavo Domínguez (Spa) Karpin Galicia
128 Xabier Zandio (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
129 Davide Vigano (Ita) Quickstep - Innergetic
130 Christophe Brandt (Bel) Predictor - Lotto
16.16
131 Imanol Erviti Ollo (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
132 Raúl García De Mateos (Spa) Relax - Gam
133 Markus Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner
17.01
134 Bert Roesems (Bel) Predictor - Lotto
17.33
135 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram
136 Nacor Burgos Rojo (Spa) Relax - Gam
137 Jesus Rosendo Prado (Spa) Andalucia - Cayasur
138 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Team Milram
139 Aitor Hernández (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
140 Matej Jurco (Svk) Team Milram
141 Serafín Martínez Acevedo (Spa) Karpin Galicia
142 Pedro Horrillo Munoz (Spa) Rabobank
143 Carlos Da Cruz (Fra) Française des Jeux
144 Alexandre Usov (Blr) AG2r Prévoyance
145 Santiago Perez (Spa) Relax - Gam
146 Santos González (Spa) Karpin Galicia
147 Damien Monier (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone
148 Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Crédit Agricole
149 Francesco Chicchi (Ita) Liquigas
150 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Liquigas
151 Angelo Furlan (Ita) Crédit Agricole
152 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Crédit Agricole
153 Patrick Calcagni (Swi) Liquigas
154 Claudio Corioni (Ita) Lampre - Fondital
155 Rony Martias (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
156 Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre - Fondital
157 Dimitri Champion (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
158 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Française des Jeux
159 Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Gerolsteiner
160 Carlos Castaño (Spa) Karpin Galicia
161 André Korff (Ger) T-Mobile Team
162 André Greipel (Ger) T-Mobile Team
163 Jorge Garcia Marin (Spa) Relax - Gam
164 José Antonio Lopez (Spa) Andalucia - Cayasur
165 Aurélien Clerc (Swi) Bouygues Telecom
166 Jean-Marc Marino (Fra) Crédit Agricole
167 Javier Megias Leal (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir
168 Tim Klinger (Ger) Gerolsteiner
169 Andreas Klier (Ger) T-Mobile Team
170 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quickstep - Innergetic
171 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Crédit Agricole
172 Sebastiaan Langeveld (Ned) Rabobank
173 Philip Deignan (Irl) AG2r Prévoyance
174 Ian McLeod (RSA) Française des Jeux
175 Ángel Vallejo (Spa) Relax - Gam
176 Alberto Fernandez De La Puebla (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir
177
Alan Perez Lezaun (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
178 Elia Rigotto (Ita) Team Milram
179 Vincent Jérôme (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
180 Maryan Hary (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone
181 José Vicente Garcia (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
182 Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun) Crédit Agricole
183 Bradley McGee (Aus) Française des Jeux
21.39
DNS Sergio Paulinho (Por) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
DNF Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
DNF Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Crédit Agricole
