Vuelta, Antonio Tiberi in white and happy

Vuelta, stage 5 to Bittner. Roglic remains in red, Tiberi still in white jersey

The Vuelta 2024 reached on Wednesday one of the largest cities in Spain, Seville, with a bunch sprint that rewarded Czech Pavel Bittner (Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL), good at anticipating at the finish line Wout van Aert (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) and Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) in the 177-kilometer stage starting in Fuente del Maestre and finishing in the capital of Andalusia.

Nothing changes in the general classification, where Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) retains the red jersey he won Tuesday with an 8" lead over Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) and 32" over Enric Mas (Movistar Team). Fourth, at 38" from the Slovenian, the first of the Italians, Antonio Tiberi.

The 23-year-old from Ciociaria, as the best Under 26 in the peloton, è also custodian, since Tuesday, of the white jersey, an achievement that, although partial, makes him happy: "It's nice to wear the white jersey, the white helmet, white gloves, you keep yourself fresh!" joked the rider in his fourth year as a professional.

"Today è was a pretty easy stage – he added -, maybe a little bit boring at the beginning, but we always try to have fun with my teammates. For sure tomorrow will be another good stage and we will see how it goes. Thursday’s stage includes a 185.5-kilometer route from Jerez de la Frontera to Yunquera, with several undulating sections and the possibility of a breakaway finish.