Farrar first in dramatic Vuelta sprint
Garmin-Transitions' sprinter Tyler Farrar won his first stage in the 2010 Vuelta a Espana stage on Wednesday after beating Koldo Fernandez de Larrea of Euskaltel-Euskadi and HTC-Columbia's Mark Cavendish in the last 100m.
Farrar, who will race with new team Garmin-Cervelo in 2011, overtook Cavendish after the Briton had made an impressive surge forward in the final kilometer.
Just before the finish, it became apparent that Cavendish had led out too early, and it was Farrar who pounced in the dying metres of the stage.
"Of course it's always nice to win against the best sprinter in the world but it's even better to win a stage at the Vuelta. I'm very happy," the American told the press after the race. "Winning always helps to build confidence. There are still a lot of sprints to come at the Vuelta. I'm already happy with one win. Any other one coming after today's would be a bonus."
After the race, Cavendish said he had been forced to start his sprint early as his teammate and lead-out man Matt Goss punctured his tire in the final 5km. Farrar was also missing his lead-out man, Julien Dean, but still managed to hold on for the victory.
The American now has two Vuelta stage wins to his name, as he claimed Stage 11 last year.
"It was a little strange today because I was alone. Normally in a stage like this, we have riders working at the front but I was not confident after suffering during yesterday's stage. Today I felt better and better. Only with 20km to go I told my teammates that I was up for the sprint."
Futile attack launched early on
While not entirely flat, the fifth stage of the Vuelta contained no categorised climbs, setting things up pretty nicely for the sprinters in the lineup.
The day began in Guadix, and after riding 199km on another hot day, the riders arrived in Lorca in southern Spain. The long descent in the last 50km of the stage ensured that any sprint finish would be decided at a blistering pace.
The first minutes of the stage saw a four-man grouping go for broke ahead of the peloton.
Jose Vincente Toribio, Arnaud Labbe, David Gutierrez and Pierre Rolland built up a six-minute lead, but it was bound chewed up by the sprinters' teams by the end of the stage.
In their usual fashion, race leader Philippe Gilbert's Omega Pharma-Lotto team led the peloton in the chase.
With 13km to go it was all even again, with Farrar, Cavendish and Alessandro Petacchi among the sprinters looking to pounce in the climactic finish.
As Farrar won the stage, Gilbert held on to the red jersey for another day. Tuesday's stage winner Igor Anton of Euskaltel-Euskadi and Katusha's Joaquin Rodriguez trail him in the overall standings, both by 10 seconds.
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