Favorites stage 5 Vuelta a España 2024 | For some riders, the stage race might end here already?!

"One flat stage"—that's what it says on the Vuelta a España website. This refers to stage five, which runs from Fuente del Maestre to the capital of Andalusia: Seville. This means the route heads south all the way, with no climbs along the way. While it may not be the most thrilling stage, it's a crucial opportunity for the sprinters.

We're likely to see a scenario similar to stages two and three: a breakaway featuring the Spanish ProContinental teams, control from Alpecin-Deceuninck and Visma | Lease a Bike, and a sprint finish at the end. However, the pressure will likely be higher for some teams, as this might be the last real sprint opportunity until stage 17.

For the sprinters, it’s do-or-die on stage five, knowing that the mountains loom ahead. They’ll have an ideal finishing straight on Wednesday—a 3.5-kilometer stretch in Seville.

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Start: 1:25 PM local time (07:25 PM EST)
Finish: 5:19 PM local time (11.19 PM EST)

Seville is one of the hottest cities in Europe, and temperatures are expected to soar above 35 degrees Celsius again on Wednesday. The wind will be coming from the southwest, mostly as a headwind, so it could be a long day in the saddle.

So far, we’ve had two sprints, and it’s clear that two riders—and their teams—are standing out. One of them is Kaden Groves from Alpecin-Deceuninck, who brought some good news on Tuesday with a contract extension with the Roodhooft brothers’ team. A win in Seville would be a nice gesture of appreciation toward his team.

Wout van Aert from Visma | Lease a Bike will definitely want to spoil that, if only to solidify his lead in the points classification. The Belgian, riding for a Dutch team, claimed his first victory since February on Monday, and it tasted sweet enough that he’ll be hungry for more in this Vuelta a España.

When looking at pure sprinter types, Arne Marit (Intermarché-Wanty) and Pavel Bittner (dsm-firmenich PostNL) come to mind. For both young riders, this might be the perfect chance to sneak in a victory in this Vuelta. They may not have the experience or endurance of a Groves or Van Aert, but they certainly have the raw speed.

Riders like Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech) and Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) tend to thrive in slightly more challenging sprints, while Spaniards Jon Aberasturi (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Carlos Canal (Movistar), Antonio Jesus Soto, and Pau Miquel (Equipo Kern Pharma) have already shown they can mix it up. For them, a top-five finish would be a significant achievement.

So, what else do we have? C-sprinters like Arjen Livyns (Lotto-Dstny), time trial specialists like Kim Heiduk (INEOS Grenadiers) and Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek), or riders looking to pull off an almost impossible breakaway attempt: Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-Dstny) or Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ), maybe one of you?

Top favorites: Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Outsiders: Pavel Bittner (dsm-firmenich PostNL), Bryan Coquard (Cofidis), Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech) and Arne Marit (Intermarché-Wanty) 
Long shots: Jon Aberasturi (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Carlos Canal (Movistar), Antonio Jesus, Soto, Pau Miquel (Equipo Kern Pharma), Kim Heiduk (INEOS Grenadiers), Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek), Victor Campenaerts, Arjen Livyns (Lotto-Dstny) and Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ)