Date: Wednesday 21 August, 2024
Distance: 177km
Start location: Fuente del Maestre
Finish location: Seville
Start time: 13:25 CEST
Finish time (approx): 17:19 CEST
Having taken the riders into Spain on stage four, today, the race sees them head southwards out of Extremadura for a finish in Seville, the capital of the nation’s southernmost region and cauldron of heat, Andalusia. We don’t quite reach the southern coast, but Seville is nevertheless a port city — in fact, its harbour is the only inland maritime port in all of Spain, made possible by navigating the Guadalquivir River into the Atlantic Ocean.
This access to the Atlantic trade brought great riches to Seville, especially during the Age of Discovery, and the city’s prestige is shown off by its famous Gothic cathedral, which, upon its completion in the 16th century, was the largest in the world. By the cathedral is the General Archive of the Indies, a Renaissance building that is another of the city’s treasures and houses archival materials from Spain’s colonial era, while also on this site is another monument from a different, earlier part of Seville’s history — the Alcázar of Seville, a royal palace built in Mudéjar style that testifies to the period of Islamic rule, before the Reconquista by the Christians.
Seville is, therefore, a historic city and remains one of the most populated in Spain, and is, as a result, a popular destination for the Vuelta a España, having hosted 12 stage finishes in the past. The last of those was as far back as 2010, but two years ago, a final stage did finish in the nearby suburb of Tomares for what was one of the most significant days of that edition. It finished with Primož Roglič surprisingly attacking on a small hill inside the final 3km, signalling that he had not given up on taking the red jersey from Remco Evenepoel. But while the Slovenian succeeded in pulling clear with a small group (from which Mads Pedersen took the stage) and gaining a small gap, he dramatically crashed on the finishing straight, sustaining injuries that forced him to abandon the day after.
Stage five is unlikely to be so eventful. Unlike the road stages in Portugal, there isn’t a single blemish on the parcours for the sprinters to worry about. In fact, the route is entirely flat, without a single categorised climb to be ridden up. It’s the kind of day that might not see a breakaway go clear, given the near-impossible chase of them staying away to the finish and will surely finish in a bunch sprint.
Stage profile sourced via Vuelta website
Contenders
It is the battle for the green jersey this Vuelta a España so far, with Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) both vying for the sprint points. They’ve each taken a stage victory, and Van Aert currently leads in the points classification by eight points after stage four, but all is still to play for. Alpecin-Deceuninck may have the edge when it comes to a lead-out for Groves, but Van Aert proved that in a two-up sprint against his rival, he can beat him to the line. However, this stage features less elevation than stage three which the Belgian won, so it may be better suited to Groves.
Israel-Premier Tech’s Corbin Strong made the podium on stage two, just behind Groves and Van Aert. He also edged in the top 10 on stage three, proving again he is one to watch in the final bunch sprints. Pavel Bittner (Team DSM-Ferminch PostNL) has had strong results so far, placing sixth and fifth on stages two and three, respectively. He won the points classification and two stages at the Vuelta a Burgos earlier this month, so will be carrying winning momentum into this race, and with this being a flat sprint to the line, he’ll be a real contender for his biggest stage victory to date.
Home team Euskaltel-Euskadi could have a chance with Jon Aberasturi. He placed third on stage three and boasts a strong final kick. The Spanish team will have their fingers crossed for Aberasturi, as this would be the biggest-ever win for the team riding their home Grand Tour. Another rider who has been in the top 10 of the first sprints has been Arne Marit (Intermarché-Wanty), who could look to use this opportunity to try and get a stage win, as could Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) and Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek).
Stage five winners prediction
We think Kaden Groves will add a second stage win to his 2024 Vuelta a España win tally.
Cover image by Zac Williams/SWPix
