Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal) has won the fifth stage in the Vuelta yesterday. The Belgian all-rounder beating Sabinanigo Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) and Thymen Arensman (Team Sunweb) after a long break in stage 5 of the Vuelta. Wellens is also the new leader in the mountains classification. It is Wellens’ first win of the season, his third in a Grand Tour. In 2016 and 2018 he won a stage in the Giro each time. The 30-year-old Slovenian Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) retained the red leader’s jersey. Dan Martin stayed second despite a crash in the chasing bunch going for the line less than 1 km to go, and awarded the same time as Roglic, who won that sprint for 4th, 2m13s down to the winner Wellens. Daniel escaped thankfully injuries and ready for the climber’s stage today.
Wellens missed the Tour de France after a heavy crash in training and then searched for the right form for a while. He hoped for a good result in the Ardennes Classics, but that didn’t work out. Although he still rode the Tour of Flanders on Sunday, he was asked to travel to the Vuelta that night! Tim repaid the belief of his team with a massive win
Result stage 5: 1 Tim Wellens LTS 4:19:25
2 Guillaume Martin COF +4
3 Thymen Arensman SUN +12
4 Primož Roglic TJV +2:13
5 Felix Großschartner BOH +2:13
6 Alex Aranburu AST +2:13
7 George Bennett TJV +2:13
8 Julien Simon TDE +2:13
9 Richard Carapaz IGD +2:13
10 Dorian Godon ALM +2:13
GC standing: 1 Primož Roglic TJV 20:52:31
2 Daniel Martin ISN @5″
3 Richard Carapaz IGD @13″
4 Enric Mas MOV @32″
5 Hugh Carthy EF1 @38″
6 Sepp Kuss TJV @44″
7 Felix Großschartner BOH @1:17
8 Esteban Chaves MTS @1:29
9 Marc Soler MOV @1:55
10 George Bennett TJV @1:57
