Boonen's turn to shine 1

February 18 ^th 2010 - 15:48

125 riders at the start; 16 teams
Perfect weather

A beautiful sunshine and slight wind welcomed the riders at Wattayah for the start of stage 5. The pack took off at a fairly fast pace along the sea (47.3 kms covered during the first hour) and several riders, including Philippe Gilbert, tried their luck in the lead. But every single breakaway attempt was chased and caught by a hungry pack.

Finally after 20 kilometres, three men managed a decisive break: Eskov (KAT), Ballan (BMC) and Pronk (VAC). Indeed the gap grew from 1’15 at km 22 to a maximum 5’ at the 50 km mark. 2008 World champion, Alessandro Ballan, made it first to the intermediate sprint line (km 61) ahead of Eskov and Pronk, as the leading three could still enjoy a 4’30 lead over the pack. As the Liquigas team of red jersey Daniele Bennati picked up the pace at the front of the bunch, the gap dropped down: 4’ at km 77 and 3’30 at the second bonus sprint (km 93.5) claimed by Ballan again, in front of Pronk and Eskov.

With 25 kilometres to go, the front men’s advantage was of only a minute. After a 113 km break, the three escapees were finally caught by the pack. It was time for the Quick Step, Liquigas, Saxo Bank and Sky teams to move up to the front to prepare for an expected bunch sprint. On the final straight, Boonen (QST) made the best of his blue Quick Step train to beat Haedo (SAX) and Van Staeyen (TSV). The red jersey remains on the shoulders of Daniele Bennati. The Italian now has a slim 2” overall lead on Boonen and 6” on Farrar. Tyler Farrar (GRM) keeps his green points jersey. Gatis Smukulis (ALM) remains the leader of the best young rider and most aggressive rider standings.