Schachmann triumphs in the Volta yet again
March 29 th 2019 - 19:44 [GMT + 1]
The German rider, Maximilian Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe), who first got the taste of victory in the WorldTour circuit in Torrefarrera last year, and signed yet another victory in the Giro d’Itàlia just weeks later, has claimed another victory in the 99th edition of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya. The young rider really showed what he is made of during the fifth stage, which took riders from Puigcerdà to Sant Cugat del Vallès over a 189-kilometre long course. The Colombian rider, Miguel Ángel López (Astana), keeps the leader’s jersey.
Schachmann was one of the protagonists of the day’s breakaway along with Andrey Amador (Movistar Team), Tejay van Garderen (Education First-Drapac) and Bert-Jan Lindeman (Team Jumbo-Visma), a group that the German rider caught up with after his companions crossed the Port de la Collada de Toses. He chose this as his breakaway moment, “it’s the first time in my career that I’ve broken away on a descent”, he later admitted in the press conference.
The first 25 kilometres of the stage took the riders over a hard fought Collada de Toses (1st category climb), where several riders form the Movistar Team tried to join the day’s breakaway, forcing Astana to react in order to protect Miguel Ángel López’s position as leader. The pace didn’t ease until the small yet diverse breakaway group made a decisive move in the descent.
They managed to gain a three and a half minute lead over the peloton, where Arkea-Samsic, Team Sunweb and Dimension Data worked hard for their sprinters. But the breakaway group’s drive and the course’s uneven profile (which also included the Collet de Sant Agustí, a 3rd category climb) worked to their advantage giving them options for a victory in the stage’s final section, where Schachmann went for a solo attack eyeing another stage victory.
Finally, the rider who won a medal in the European championship time-trial event last season crossed the finish line 13 seconds clear of the main group, led by Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb), winner in Sant Feliu de Guíxols, showing that at only 25 years of age, he is one of the most promising all-rounders at international level. As for the favourites battling for the general classification, they crossed the line at the front of the group, except Egan Bernal (Team Sky) who, despite having mechanical problems on the finish line, maintains his third place before the second-last stage of the “Volta”, which will take riders from Valls to Vila-seca.