Belgium's Meersman wins stage five of Tour of Spain
ByReuters
Published 24/08/2016 at 17:19 GMT
Belgium's Gianni Meersman won the fifth stage of the Tour of Spain on Wednesday, a 171.3 kilometre-ride from Viveiro and Lugo, with Colombian Darwin Atapuma retaining the leader's red jersey.
Eurosport
Image credit: Eurosport
Australian Simon Clarke and Philippe Gilbert of Belgium attacked with 2km remaining but were caught in the final stretch.
Etixx-Quick Step team rider Meersman held off the challenge of Italy's Fabio Felline and Kevin Reza of France, who came in third, in a sprint finish.
"To be honest I was extremely happy at the first victory. It gave me a lot of confidence," Meersman, who also won stage two of the race, told Spanish television.
"Everything was good today. I saw the sign of 200m and I had to start. Nobody passed me so I'm very happy."
A crash split the pack in the closing stages and ended the race of Dutchman Steven Kruijswijk who sustained a suspected broken collarbone.
Race leader Atapuma lost more than a minute in the finale but organisers applied the three-kilometre rule, meaning the BMC rider could stay in red.
"I'm happy to continue to be leader," Atapuma said. "I had to wait to find out if I would wear red tomorrow. It's a fantastic feeling.
"I just hope that those that fell are ok."
Thursday's stage six is a 163.2km ride from Monforte de Lemos to Luintra. The race finishes on Sept. 11 in Madrid.
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