SEVILLE: Czech rider Pavel Bittner clinched his first Grand Tour victory with a narrow photo finish win over Wout van Aert at the end of stage five of the Vuelta a España on Wednesday.
Van Aert, who had been poised to secure his second stage win of this year’s race, was narrowly defeated by the 21-year-old Bittner (DSM-Firmenich-PostNL) in a dramatic sprint to the line.
“It’s unbelievable,” Bittner told Eurosport. “Just a few days ago, I got my first professional win, and now to win at my first Vuelta is surreal. To beat Wout van Aert, one of the best long sprinters in the world, is just incredible. I told my team that we could do it, and when the opportunity arose, I went for it with everything I had.”
Van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) retained the green jersey for the points classification, but he missed out on what would have been his second stage win. Australia’s Kaden Groves, also vying for his second stage victory, finished in third place.
Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe) maintained the overall lead after safely finishing in the peloton. Roglic is aiming for a record-equalling fourth Vuelta title.
Wednesday’s 177-km stage from Fuente del Maestre to Seville, though flatter compared to previous days, was challenging with its lumpy first half and intense heat. A breakaway group initially made headway but was caught with 38km to go, setting up a bunch sprint through the streets of Seville.
Van Aert’s early attack seemed decisive, but he misjudged his final lunge, allowing Bittner to snatch victory by the slimmest of margins. Portugal’s Rui Costa (EF Education-EasyPost) was involved in a crash during the final run-in and was forced to abandon the race.
The Vuelta resumes in the mountains on Thursday with Roglic holding an eight-second lead over UAE Team Emirates rider Joao Almeida.
