Stage five was billed as the queen stage… and it delivered the promised fireworks! The more than demanding route featured 3,841 meters spread across eight categorized climbs starting and finishing in Eibar.
Paul Seixas and Florian Lipowitz ignited the attacks, early on the eight cat climbs, the pair escaped together on the Trabakua climb with 30km remaining. Seixas proved to have the strongest engine, did the lion’s share of the pacing while Lipowitz taking pulls sparingly. Entering the uphill final kilometer, Lipowitz attacked. But the French teenage sensation matched the German’s acceleration and powered past him in the final meters for his third stage victory, with an iron grip on the yellow jersey.
The final stage on Saturday will feature more climbing, including ascents of Gorla, Azkarate, and a double passage over Asentizio, leading into fast descent and a flat sprint into Bergara.
“At the start, I wasn’t expecting any help from him (Lipowitz), which is normal. There was Roglic behind, it seemed consistent to em. I quickly saw that he was starting to take turns pulling, it really did me good, I got my legs back.”
-Paul Seixas
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