Sam Bennett missed his chance of a second stage win at Vuelta a San Juan today when his lead-out men became uncharacteristically detached from each other in the run-in to the line. The Bora-hansgrohe rider has made a habit in his career of taking the final stages on major stage races - including on Giro d'Italia into Rome and at the Tour de France into Paris. But there was no repeat of that in the less glamorous provincial city of San Juan today.
With about 1.5km to go, Ryan Mullen was alongside one of his Bora-hansgrohe team mates near the front of the bunch; exactly where he needed to be to pull Bennett and his final lead-out man, Danny van Poppel, into position.
However, Bennett and Van Poppel were about 10 riders further back as the Team DSM team mates of eventual stage winner, Sam Welsford, owned the front of the bunch. As Mullen neared the front he had a quick look over his shoulder and when Bennett and Van Poppel where nowhere to be seen, he swung off and his work for the day was done.
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Van Poppel and Bennett might have rescued the situation but for becoming detached from each other just before the line. Both ran into traffic and while Van Poppel eventually found the space in the group to free himself and sprint out to the left, Bennett had gone right and was trapped behind other riders.
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Welsford had no such problems, benefitting from excellent team work to win his second stage in two days. And while Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal-QuickStep) came up Welsford's inside just before the line, he almost clipped the barriers and had to be content with 2nd place, with Giacomo Nizzolo (Israel-Premier Tech) in 3rd.
In the end, Van Poppel was best-placed of the Bora-hansgrohe riders, in 5th place, as Bennett eased off the gas once he knew he was not in contention to win, and finished 15th. Miguel Ángel López (Team Medellin-EPM) wrapped up the overall victory after taking the race lead when he won stage 5 on the only summit finish of the race.
He was crowned overall winner - just months after a controversial exit from Astana Qazaqstan - by 30 seconds from Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) with Sergio Higuita (Bora-hansgrohe) in 3rd overall at 44 seconds.
Today, the riders faced a short stage around the city of San Juan, for a total race distance of just 112km. With sprinters Bennett, Jakobsen, Fernando Gaviria (Movistar Team) and Welsford all having taken a win each in a bunch sprint before today's stage, their four teams were always going to prove too strong for any breakaway riders with designs on making it all the way today.
And while a breakaway inevitably broke clear and tried its best to survive, they eventually succumbed to the inevitable; being swept up by the speeding peloton to set up another big bunch finish. Team DSM, clearly buoyed by Welsford's win yesterday, put in a fantastic lead-out effort in the finale today. Its full train positioned ideally positioned Welsford to claim a second win; the Australian not disappointing.
More to come.
