LottoNL-Jumbo’s Steven Kruijswijk sits 10th in classification after placing 10th in the Volta a Catalunya’s stage five today. Team-mate Robert Gesink lit up the early hours, attacking and trying to stay clear of the main guns. They blasted by, led by Alejandro Valverde, who won the stage and took the overall lead.

"It was a good day, it was my goal to join the breakaway, and it succeeded after 60 kilometres of attacking," said Gesink. Soon the group had a big lead, but on the flatter section along the coast, Movistar began to chase. "Unfortunately, they didn’t let us go because the GC teams were nervous. When they began chasing, our lead was quickly over. It’s unfortunate because I wanted to test my legs on the climb. Now, I’ll try to recover well and take another chance tomorrow.”

Gesink almost immediately went to the front of the pack after being caught. Sports Director Sierk-Jan de Haan smiled with his work. "Everyone did what was expected of him,” de Haan said. “Gesink tried to jump, and finally sat on the front of the group. He and his team-mates made every effort to keep George Bennett and Kruijswijk in the front."

Kruijswijk feels better

On the final climb to Port Lo, the peloton broke into pieces. Kruijswijk placed 10th and Bennett 18th. In the classification, Bennett moved to 14th.

"This is a good performance and you can see that he is in good shape after his illness in Paris-Nice,” de Haan said of Kruijswijk. “It is nice to see that he is improving and sits in 10th place at this level of a race. It is especially good for Steven’s morale, he begins to be fit again."