Jonas Vingegaard seized control of the Volta a Catalunya on Friday, but Pinarello 36.5’s Tom Pidcock fell in the finale, effectively shutting down his GC chances.
Stage 5 was shortened slightly due to wind. But the day’s race was still a doozy. It was 156 km, stacked with a bunch of early climbs before the summit finish. Legs were tenderized well before the finale. Lidl-Trek’s Derek Gee-West didn’t take to the start, citing illness.
Giulio Ciccone animated the day from the break, sweeping maximum points on the opening climbs to slash his deficit in the mountains classification.
Crashes on the descent of Collada Sobirana split the peloton, with João Almeida and Brandon McNulty among those involved.
Ineos-Grenadiers then set a steady tempo into the final climb before attacks began to fly.
Felix Gall, Lenny Martinez and Florian Lipowitz forced the pace, but Vingegaard made the decisive move with seven kilometres to go. Once clear, he rode away solo, opening a gap he would not relinquish en route to the stage win and overall lead.
Pidcock fell in the descent in the final kilometres of the stage.
The Brit went off the road after misjudging a corner, crashing into a ravine. Despite the fall, he got back to the road, changed bikes and finished the stage. Initial assessments are reassuring, with no immediate signs of serious injury. It was an unusual sign to see the descending ace hit the deck. Luckily, he’s OK.
“I was drinking on the descent and misjudged a corner. I overshot it and went down the ravine. It was like one of these horror crashes you see, but I’m very lucky that I am okay,” Pidcock revealed after the stage. “I’ll go for a check, but I think I’m okay.”
“No one new I’d crashed,” Pidcock added later on Instagram, “I am lucky I could talk on the radio. I was far from the road and nobody knew I was there. I’m happy I could finish the stage.”
“I’m going to self-proclame as a ninja crasher,” the Brit joked, saying he was going around 60 km/h when he went off the road.
According to his team, Pidcock will undergo further medical evaluations.
Stage 6 is another tough day, Berga to Queralt for a total of 158.2km.