The fifth stage in Paris-Nice has been won by Carlos Betancur. The Colombian was able to stay ahead of the peloton together with two other riders. Zdenek finished in the peloton and is still on a ninth place in the general classification.
“It was a hard stage from the beginning. There was a breakaway with Sylvain Chavanel and my teammate Jan Bakelants. Because Jan is seventh in the classification, the peloton wouldn’t let him go. In a downhill later in the race the peloton splitted in two big groups.”
With Tom Boonen, Omega Pharma-Quick Step had a fast sprinter in the first group. “But three riders attacked in the last ten kilometers and stayed ahead. We did our best to get them back. It’s a shame that it didn’t work out for us, because Boonen was good today.”
“Tomorrow there is another though day. We will wake up at 6:45 am for a busride of 1,5 hours to the start of the sixth stage. With 221 kilometers it will be the longest stage of Paris-Nice this year. Plus the ten kilometer in the neutral zone.”