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Bittner won Stage 5 of the Vuelta a España after a tight sprint to the finish in Seville. Van Aert and Groves were once again battling for line honours, however, neither got the win, as Bittner threw to the line ahead of Van Aert in a photo finish.
Van Aert surely thought he had done enough to win the stage when he outfoxed a boxed-in Groves by launching his sprint from distance on the finishing straight, but he was surprised in the closing metres by Bittner, who managed to get back on terms and then beat the Belgian in the final dive to the line.
The Czech had to wait a moment for confirmation, but the image showed that he was a clear winner of his first Grand Tour stage.
“It’s unbelievable. I mean, only a few days ago I got my first pro win so to get the win at my first Vuelta, I still don’t believe it,” said Bittner.
“With DSM, we did a lot of work on this, the whole team was very good and then to beat Wout in a long sprint…. He’s one of the best long sprinters in the world, it’s crazy.”
Speaking in the post-stage interview, the second-year professional was reluctant to pigeonhole himself purely as a fast finisher after achieving the Grand Tour feat.
“I don’t see myself as a sprinter, I see myself more as a Classics rider, so we’ll see,” said Bittner. “I told the guys today we could really do it, I really believed in myself. And when the opportunity came, I just went full gas to the line.”
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Stage 5 - Replay - La Vuelta a Espana 2024
There were no major changes to the GC standings overnight, with Primoz Roglic (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) keeping his eight-second advantage over João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates), while Van Aert (158 points) maintains a slender lead over Groves (145 points) in the green jersey race.
