Argentine squad gets stage win from Emanuel Guevara, Daniel Diaz into overall lead
In its biggest showcase of the season, the San Luis Somos Todos team from Argentina made a big statement in stage five of the Tour de San Luis, as Emanuel Guevara got the stage win as the last survivor out of the early break, and team-mate Daniel Diaz dropped all the big names out of the peloton on the decisive final climb to grab the overall lead with two stages remaining.
It’s not the first time Diaz has been in a similar position, as he finished second overall in the race last year, behind Levi Leipheimer.
Guevara formed an early two-man break with Vojitech Hacecky (ASC Dukla Praha) and built a maximum lead of 17 minutes. Guevara survived to the finish, though only just, as Diaz was second to finish, 15 seconds later. Miguel Angel Rubiano (Androni Giocattoli) was third, and Arnold Alcolea was fourth, representing the team from Cuba.
Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) and Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing) were present and close to the lead again, though both would again have to find their own pace on the final big climb, the Cerro el Amago, which crested about 15 kilometres from the finish in La Carolina.
Stage three winner Alex Diniz (Funvic Brasilinvest) also climbed well, finishing 8th on the stage, just behind Contador and van Garderen, who were 6th and 7th, respectively.
Diaz, who entered the day in 7th overall, assumes the overall lead thanks to his second place finish on stage five, and van Garderen bumps up to second, 17 seconds behind. Diniz sits third at 39 seconds, Contador is fourth at just over a minute, and Jurgen Van den Broeck (Lotto Belisol) is currently fifth overall. The leader going into the day was Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma-Quick Step), but the Pole was dropped early on the Cerro el Amago, and was put back to ninth overall at the finish.
The stage served up just the one main climb, and Guevara and Hacecky worked well together from the start. At the base of the Cerra, which climbed steeply and narrowly for nearly 11 kilometres, Guevara went early and Hacecky was forced to drop back. BMC Racing led the peloton on the early slopes, forcing a selection and eating into the lead of Guevara.
With Kwiatkowski falling back, Contador and Diaz lit the torch. But Diaz was able to push a pace that Contador could not, and the Vuelta a España champion had to drop back, and he eventually joined up with van Garderen, working together all the way to the finish. Rubiano and Alcolea attacked briefly out of the Contador group, which also contained Diniz, Van Den Broeck, and Javier Acevedo (Jamis-Hagens Berman).
With 15 kilometres to race after the summit of the Cerra, the Contador – van Garderen group could not quite reel in Diaz, and Guevara used his big early advantage to just hang on at the finish. San Luis Somos Todos now has the overall lead and the team classification to defend.
Van Garderen will have his squad at his disposal for stage six, and BMC director John Lelangue is pleased with how his team is racing. “The team did a fantastic job today,” he remarked. “They kept the pace in the peloton and positioned Tejay perfectly for the final climb. All our riders were strong help to Tejay, especially Thor Hushovd and Manuel Quinziato. Satuday will be a tough ride, even tougher than the earlier stages. The finish is very steep. We have nothing to lose, so we’ll go for it.”
Saturday’s stage six culminates with the sharp ascent of the Mirador del Sol, and with a good day, any rider in the top ten could still be in contention. Interestingly, the same stage was won last year by Contador, with Diaz in second, though the Contador victory would soon be stricken from the record, giving the stage win to Diaz. The two figure to be major protagonists on the same stage again, one year later.
Tour de San Luis Stage 5 Brief Results:
1, Emmanuel Guevara (San Luis Somos Todos) in 4:17:48
2, Daniel Diaz (San Luis Somos Todos) at 15 secs
3, Miguel Angel Rubiano (Androni Giocattoli) at 17 secs
4, Arnold Alcolea (Cuba) at s.t.
5, Javier Acevedo (Jamis-Hagens Berman) at 1’21”
6, Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) at s.t.
7, Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing) at s.t.
8, Alex Diniz (Funvic Brasilinvest) at s.t.
9, Mauro Santambrogio (Vini Fantini) at 1’41”
10, Matteo Montaguti (Ag2R La Mondiale) at 1’42”
General Classification after Stage 5:
1, Daniel Diaz (San Luis Somos Todos) in 16:49:52
2, Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing) at 17 secs
3, Alex Diniz (Funvic Brasilinvest) at 39 secs
4, Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) at 1’04”
5, Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Lotto Belisol) at 1’07”
6, Miguel Angel Rubiano (Androni Giocattoli) at 1’47”
7, Vincenzo Nibali (Astana Pro Team) at 2’14”
8, Mauro Santambrogio (Vini Fantini) at 2’17”
9, Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) at 2’19”
10, Javier Acevedo (Jamis-Hagens Berman) at 2’20”