Vuelta a Espana: Caleb Ewan wins as Chris Froome gains time on rivals
Tom Dumoulin takes overall lead following late split on stage five
By Matt Westby
Last Updated: 26/08/15 6:09pm
Chris Froome gained six seconds on his rivals as Caleb Ewan sprinted to victory on stage five of the Vuelta a Espana and Tom Dumoulin took the overall lead.
Ewan (Orica-GreenEdge) claimed the first grand tour win of his career by comfortably beating John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin) into second place and Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) into third in Alcala de Guadaira.
There was a split in the peloton behind them on the short but steep climb to the line, with Froome (Team Sky) finishing in the front group, six seconds ahead of Nairo Quintana (Movistar), Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), Fabio Aru (Astana) and previous race leader Esteban Chaves (Orica-GreenEdge), who were all caught out.
Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin), second overall at the start of the day, joined Froome in the front group and consequently turned his five-second deficit to Chaves into a one-second lead. Nicolas Roche (Team Sky) remains third but is now 16 seconds down on the red jersey.
Froome climbs to seventh overall, 35 seconds adrift of Dumoulin but now two seconds up on Quintana and only six seconds down on Valverde.
Ewan, 21, is arguably the brightest young sprint prospect in cycling and although he had already amassed 10 wins in his debut professional season, soundly beating Degenkolb and Sagan was a major statement for the future.
He told Eurosport: "My team-mate went to the front and I knew it was a little bit too early, so I dropped back a few spots on to Degenkolb's wheel. He went probably at the right time, but I waited and waited and got over him on the last steep bit. It turned out perfect.
"It's an incredible feeling. This is, by far, the biggest victory of my career. When I crossed the line, there was so much emotion and I was so happy. It means a lot for me to beat two of the best sprinters in the world."
Dumoulin admitted he hadn't been aware of the split in the peloton and thought Chaves was still the race leader.
He told Eurosport: "I delayed the podium ceremony a little bit because I was already going down towards the bus and I was already pedalling and drinking my recovery bottle, and then I heard on the radio that I had the red jersey.
"It was really not the plan today. My plan was to help John Degenkolb for the sprint. That didn't work out. Now I am here in the leader's jersey, which I really enjoy. After my crash in the Tour de France, I really love to wear this leader's jersey."
The Vuelta continues on Thursday with a 200.3km sixth stage from Cordoba to Sierra de Cazorla, which ends with the second of the race's eight summit finishes.
Stage five result
1 Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge, 3:57:28
2 John Degenkolb (Ger) Giant-Alpecin, same time
3 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo, st
4 Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing, st
5 Jose Joaquin Rojas (Esp) Movistar, +2secs
6 Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) MTN-Qhubeka, st
7 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Ag2r-La Mondiale, st
8 Daniel Moreno (Esp) Katusha, st
9 Tosh van der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal, st
10 Nikolas Maes (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step, st
Selected others
12 Chris Froome (GB) Team Sky, st
15 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Giant-Alpecin, st
21 Esteban Chaves (Col) Orica-GreenEdge, +8
23 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar, st
33 Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar, st
General classification
1 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Giant-Alpecin, 17:09:06
2 Esteban Chaves (Col) Orica-GreenEdge, +1sec
3 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sky, +16
4 Dan Martin (Irl) Cannondale-Garmin, +25
5 Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar, +29
6 Daniel Moreno (Esp) Katusha, +31
7 Chris Froome (GB) Team Sky, +35
8 Joaquim Rodriguez (Esp) Katusha, +36
9 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar, +37
10 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana, +48
