Sergio Ribeiro (Barbot-Siper) won the fifth and final stage in the Vuelta a Castilla y León in a bunch sprint. Alberto Contador defended his overall lead and took his third stage race of the season, after Paris-Nice and the Volta ao Algarve. The stage from Samos to Santiago de Compostela was 171.6 kilometers long, which was just a tad too much for an eight-man group that was caught at the very end of the race.

One of the riders in the break, Xacobeo Galicia’s Gonzalo Rabuñal, made one last desperate attempt to escape as the break was caught, but he was reeled in on the finishing straight, ending in 11th.

Rabuñal’s teammate Ezequiel Mosquera finished third overall. Their director, Álvaro Pino, was thus content. “We said we would fight for victory and that is what we did. Of course the rivals also count, especially if is Alberto Contador. Today we set out for the stage win, since the overall was already decided. With that in mind. Gonzalo Rabuñal joined the break. He almost succeeded.”

The break of the day formed after 28km, with Arnold Jeannesson (Caisse d’Epargne), Grischa Niermann (Rabobank), Markel Irizar (RadioShack), José Gómez Marchante (Andalucía), Gonzalo Rabuñal (Xacobeo Galicia), Ivan Melero (Burgos 2016), José Herrada (Caja Rural) and José Mendes (LA).

The category 3 Alto de Montecalvo was tackled after 59km, with Marchante leading Jeannesson and Niermann. At km 65 the gap was 3’20, which turned out to be the maximum. Forty kilometers from the line the gap was still 3’08. When it looked like the break would succeed, the peloton stormed past in the closing moment of the race.

Stage result

1. Sergio Ribeiro (Barbot) in 3h50’06
2. Alberto Benítez (Footon Servetto)
3. Angel Vicioso (Andalucía)
4. Javier Moreno (Andalucía)
5. Pablo Urtasun (Euskaltel Euskadi)
6. Tiago Machado (RadioShack)
7. Pablo Lastras (Caisse d’Epargne)
8. David García (Xacobeo Galicia)
9. Stefan Denifl (Cervelo)

Final general classification

1. Alberto Contador (Astana) in 16h56’01
2. Igor Antón (Euskaltel-Euskadi) at 0’41
3. Ezequiel Mosquera (Xacobeo Galicia) at 1’20