Sebastián Molano claimed his supremacy as a sprinter, beating Hodeg at the finish line.
Sebastián Molano (UAE) was the fastest cyclist at the end of the fifth stage of the Tour Colombia UCI 2.1, claiming his third victory. The penultimate day of the competition ended up in a very close sprint between Molano, Álvaro Hodeg (Deceuninck – Quick Step) and Jonathan Restrepo (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec) who made today’s podium.
Crowds cheered on the athletes from bridges, on the roads and especially in the streets of Zipaquirá’s where many wanted to see their hometown idol Egan Bernal, the first Colombian to win a Tour de France. The passion for cycling in this town has been a tradition since one man from Zipaquirá, Efraín Forero, was the first champion of Vuelta a Colombia.
With the final day looming large, Sergio Higuita kept the leadership of the general classification followed by his teammates Daniel Martínez and Jonathan Caicedo. Education First Team has more than one card to play in the mountains tomorrow.
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Nonetheless, INEOS will be looking to overturn the EF kingdom at Tour Colombia. To achieve it INEOS boasts current Tour De France champion Egan Bernal who is set fourth, or the Giro de Italia champion, Richard Carapaz, who is fifth only 58 seconds behind the leader. Everybody is expecting INEOS to launch brutal attacks during the final stage.
Applauses to the adventures
Through 180 kilometres between Paipa and Zipaquirá, eight cyclists worked together in another lasting breakaway that did not achieve the victory as the average speed of the main group was 42.5 kms/h despite the slopes of the first half part.
The heroes of the day were Pellaud (Androni), Duarte (Medellín), Chalapud (Medellín), Quiroz (Tierra de Atletas), Suárez (EPM Scott), Pedraza (SuperGiros), Mirco Maestri (Bardiani) and Guamá (Ecuador).
Moreover, the Ecuadorian national team has shown its fierceness in every single stage putting a rider in all the breakaways of the Tour. The same has been tried by the Brazilians, but only two cyclists remain.
Last stage
Tomorrow will be a full-fire-stage from the beginning to the final along 182 kilometres. The four climbs, especially the last one, El Verjón, will allow a real battle on the bike in which riders could rewrite the script. Bernal and Carapaz could win but Higuita is strong enough to take it all. Watch out with the crowds!
