Nairo Quintana, Rigoberto Urán, Sergio Henao, Egan Bernal: The cream of this unprecedented crop of Colombian talent went hammer and tongs on the steep climb to Salento in a thrilling finale to stage 5 of the Oro y Paz. Spare a thought, though, for Rodrigo Contreras, the forgotten man of today's stage and a forgotten man of Colombian cycling.
The former Quick-Step Floors rider, now representing a local Colombian team, nearly defied the odds as he spent 30 kilometres on his own at the front of the race, only to be mopped up and spat out at the foot of the 2.9-kilometre final climb. From there, it was pure theatre as the peloton burst open and Colombia's best climbers locked horns, sending the huge crowds gathered in Salento's square to fever pitch.
Urán (EF-Drapac) won the stage, getting to the line just ahead of Quintana (Movistar). Bernal (Team Sky) followed right behind for third, with teammate Henao on his wheel.
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Those four had looked strong on Friday on the first hilly stage of the Oro y Paz but the climb to El Tambo proved best suited to the qualities of Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors). Many thought the short climb to Salento might be the same, but it turned out to be far steeper than the road-book suggested, and Alaphilippe finished outside the top 10 and waved goodbye to his leader's jersey.
Thanks to his marginally better finish on Friday, it's Quintana who moves into pink with one stage remaining. He leads Urán by three seconds, Henao by four seconds, and Bernal by nine seconds. The Oro y Paz now looks like a four-horse race on the grand finale atop Manizales on Sunday.
Salento's square was packed for the podium ceremony, where Quintana, Urán, and Bernal received their prizes. The hoards of fans didn't know who to cheer for, so they cheered for all of them. Chants of 'Nairo, Nairo!' were interspersed with chants of 'Rigo, Rigo!', and then 'Egan, Egan!'.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Race Results http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/colombia-oro-y-paz-2018/stage-5/results
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