Sepp Kuss keeps Poole at bay and wins third stage race of his career, Bittner takes his second pro victory

Pavel Bittner has won the fifth and final stage of the Tour of Burgos. In an explosive stage filled with elevation changes, Sepp Kuss retained his leader's jersey, securing the overall victory.

The final stage covered 156 kilometers from Frías to Condado de Treviño. The stage had an easy start, but the second half of the course constantly went up and down. Kuss, riding for Visma | Lease a Bike, started the day with a five-second lead over Max Poole of Team dsm-firmenich PostNL. The battle focused on the breakaway group, which quickly gained some space. Patrick Gamper (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Michael Leonard (INEOS Grenadiers) and Lidl-Trek trainee Pim Ronhaar were the lucky ones.

With Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team, Team Jayco AlUla and Visma | Lease a Bike leading the peloton, the race progressed at a brisk pace as we were headed towards the Navarra circuit, which was reached 35 kilometers from the finish. The three leaders had just over a two-minute advantage at that point, which was ideal for Kuss. After Movistar and Burgos-BH increased the pace and forced the breakaway to accelerate, Ronhaar dropped off.

Team dsm-firmenich PostNL and Movistar eventually reeled in breakaway

The efforts of the Spanish teams caused Caleb Ewan to lose contact with the peloton, eliminating a key contender for the stage win. The action intensified when Victor Lafay (AG2R) and Davide Piganzoli (Polti-Kometa) launched an attack with seventeen kilometers to go. The two attempted to bridge the gap to the men in the lead but were unsuccessful due to the work of Team dsm-firmenich PostNL and Movistar. Meanwhile, Leonard and Gamper continued to push hard and seemed close to making it.

But they didn't. The peloton's effort brought back the early breakaway just before the finish, allowing the remaining sprinters to battle it out. Just like on day one, Bittner proved the fastest, taking his second stage victory of the race. Giacomo Nizzolo and Iván Garcia Cortina completed the top three, while Kuss celebrated his overall victory.

Results stage 5 Tour of Burgos 2024

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