Published October 21, 2019 02:34AM
Tour of Guangxi stage 5: Gaviria takes second win of the week
GC leader Enric Mas finished safely in the bunch to retain leader's jersey with one stage remaining.
Gaviria closed out a rocky season on a high with two wins at Tour of Guangxi. Photo: Tim de Waele/Getty Images
Fernando Gaviria (UAE-Team Emirates) took his second stage win of Tour of Guangxi Monday.
The Colombian beat Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott) in the sprint finish, leaving Ackermann and Trentin second and third respectively.
Enric Mas (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) finished safely in the bunch and retains the leader’s jersey. There is no change in the top 3 of the GC after Danny Martinez (EF Education First) and Diego Rosa (Ineos) also finished in the front group.
The 212km stage into Guilin was packed with climbs in the second half, with the last falling 40km before the line.
The final climb of the day saw the bunch split down into small groups, with around 20 remaining at the front. Gaviria was one of many sprinters dropped on the testing ascent, but the length of the run-in to the line gave time for the race to come back together as around 50 riders went into the final kilometer together.
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Bora-Hansgrohe, working for their sprinter Ackermann, were present in numbers at the front of the bunch going into the final 300 meters as sprinters fought for position across the road.
However, Gaviria was the first to open up his sprint and was unstoppable. Ackermann was able to jump across to his wheel, but lacked the kick to come around the Colombian as Gaviria went on to win by a bike length. Trentin’s third place is his fourth of this tour.
Stage 6, Tuesday, is the last of the race and is likely to see another sprint finish.
GC after stage 5
- Enric Mas (Deceuninck-Quick-Step): 19:04:32
- Danny Martinez (EF Education First): +0:00:05
- Diego Rosa (Ineos): +0:00:14