Despite several attack attempts, no real leading group emerged in the first mountain stage. On the first climb of the day, the riders of Team Visma | Lease a Bike stepped up the pace, forcing several riders to leave the role. On the way to the final climb, Vos finished second in the intermediate sprint, taking over the lead in the points classification.

Due to the hard work of the riders of the yellow-black formation, Markus was dropped well at the beginning of the final climb. The 29-year-old Dutch rider fought on the flanks of the Spanish final climb for all she was worth and ultimately fought her way to a commendable seventh place.

Markus looks back on the fifth stage with satisfaction. "Today, we've made a significant move forward. I felt good on the final climb, so that was a nice confirmation." The work of her teammates has greatly assisted her: "It was great to have the other girls around me. Eva did the lead-out to the final climb, positioning me very well. I'm very thankful to everyone for today."

"The goal today was to score points for Marianne in the points classification and keep Riejanne close in the overall standings, and we succeeded in both," team manager Rutger Tijssen looked back with satisfaction. "It was a long wait before anything happened. In the end, someone from FDJ-SUEZ pulled it off and we were in a perfect position. On the final climb, Riejanne rode very well and managed to limit the damage to her competitors."

Markus hopes to maintain her position. She faces the upcoming days with confidence but remains realistic: "There are still three difficult days ahead. Tomorrow, we have another challenging uphill finish. We definitely need to assess our situation after these next stages, but I'm very happy with today, regardless."