Stage 5
Clarke wins, Molard into red
- Wednesday 29 August 2018
- 189 km
- 3,178 m climbed
- Won by Simon Clarke
The road
At the start
Yates third, and a run to the sea
Ben King held off the chase to win at Alfaguara from the breakaway. Behind him Simon Yates made the first acceleration of his Vuelta and moved to third, ten seconds off Michał Kwiatkowski, with Emanuel Buchmann between them. Today is 189 kilometres from Granada down to the coast at Roquetas de Mar, over the Alto de Orgiva and the Alto El Marchal, and it is harder than the profile admits.
How it was won
- 60 km to go
De Marchi goes alone
The ever-present Alessandro De Marchi breaks up the escape and strikes out solo with 60km to go, leaving Rossetto to the sharks.
- 27 km to go
Three clear over El Marchal
Clarke and Mollema join De Marchi over the final climb of Alto El Marchal and drop into the long descent together, dangling ahead of the chase.
- At the line
Clarke wins, Molard into red
Simon Clarke outsprints Mollema and De Marchi in Roquetas de Mar, while behind, Rudy Molard claims a surprise red jersey.
The result
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Simon Clarke | Team EF Education First - Drapac p/b Cannondale | 4:36:07 |
| 2 | Bauke Mollema | Trek - Segafredo | +0:00 |
| 3 | Alessandro De Marchi | BMC Racing Team | +0:00 |
The route on real terrain, every moment pinned to the kilometre it happened on — and the GPX to ride it yourself.