On paper, the 165.9 kilometre 5th stage was considered to be the last classic flat stage of the Tour of Catalonia - an expected affair for the sprinters. In the finale, however, the wind thwarted this forecast. INEOS Grenadiers tore the field apart 20 kilometres before the finish in a wind edge.
The stage in Amposta was won by Matthew Brennan (Visma | Lease a Bike). For the 19-year-old, it was his second stage win in this tour after the opening stage. He also benefited from the fact that he had five team-mates in the leading group. On the finishing straight, Brennan was clearly the strongest rider in the group and won by a bike length ahead of Tibor Del Grosso (Alpecin - Deceuninck) and Pavel Bittner (Team Picnic PostNL). Nico Denz (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) was eighth on the day.
Ayuso new leader thanks to bonus second
The overall lead changed hands to Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates - XRG), who, thanks to a bonus second on the road, beat Primoz Roglic (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) at the top of the overall standings. Both riders had started the stage at the same time and were part of the first group in the finale, as were Enric Mas (Movistar Team) and Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step).
With Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto), Matthew Riccitello (Israel - Premier Tech) and Harold Martin Lopez (XDS Astana Team), however, some riders lost their place in the top ten of the overall standings. They were part of the second group that reached the finish 44 seconds behind. Emanuel Buchmann (Cofidis) was also part of this group.
Tour of Catalonia 2025 - Results of the 5th stage
Stage 5: Paüls - Amposta
Volta Ciclista a Catalunya 2025: Stage 5, Paüls - Amposta
| Rnk. | Riders | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 03:28:14 |
| 2 | Alpecin - Deceuninck | +00:00:00 |
| 3 | Team Picnic PostNL | +00:00:00 |
| 4 | EF Education - EasyPost | +00:00:00 |
| 5 | Israel - Premier Tech | +00:00:00 |
| 6 | INEOS Grenadiers | +00:00:00 |
This is how the 5th stage of the Tour of Catalonia 2025 went
At the start of the stage, the battle for the mountain jersey took centre stage. The only categorised climb of the day was the Coll de la Font (3rd category) after just 19 kilometres - and both the mountain classification leader Bruno Armirail (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) and his pursuer Mats Wenzel (Kern Pharma) initiated the day's leading group early on. Wenzel ultimately secured the three mountain points ahead of Armirail, thus reducing the gap to the Frenchman to two points in the special classification.
The seven-man breakaway also included Michael Leonard (INEOS Grenadiers), Enzo Paleni (Groupama - FDJ), Jan Castellon (Caja Rural - Seguros RGA), Mikel Bizkarra and Jokin Murguialday (both Euskaltel - Euskadi). However, the group never really got up to speed - partly because Armirail and Wenzel had already achieved their goal for the day. The group did not gain more than three minutes on the peloton.
INEOS Grenadiers tears the field apart
After around 90 kilometres, Leonard was the first breakaway rider to drop back, followed later by Armirail and other riders, leaving only the duo of Murguialday and Paleni at the front. However, their lead was only 30 seconds with 50 kilometres to go. Shortly afterwards, Paleni continued the hopeless escape attempt as a soloist.
With many tailwind passages, the peloton travelled quickly at an average speed of 45 km/h. The last intermediate sprint in L'Adea went to Paleni 25 kilometres before the finish, after which he was dropped. Important: At the intermediate sprint, Ayuso finished third behind Nico Denz and ahead of Primoz Roglic (both Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) - and thus secured himself a second time bonus. That was enough to knock Roglic off first place in the overall classification.
With 20 kilometres to go, INEOS Grenadiers took advantage of a wind edge to break up the peloton. The result was a leading group of around 35 riders, including Roglic and Ayuso. The winner ultimately came from this group.
