Valverde edges stage, Gerrans claims lead
Spaniard Alejandro Valverde claimed an emotional Tour Down Under stage five victory by the narrowest of margins over local favourite Simon Gerrans but could not prevent his Australian rival from seizing the leader's Ochre jersey on Saturday.
At the end of the 151.5km trek from McLaren Vale to Old Willunga Hill, Moviestar rider Valverde crossed the line a few centimetres ahead of Gerrans in three hours, 45 minutes and 48 seconds in the penultimate stage south of Adelaide.
Both riders are tied for the lead in terms of overall time but a countback of previous stage placings has put the GreenEdge rider in top spot ahead of Sunday's final stage, a 90km criterium around the streets of Adelaide.
"I'm thrilled and really rapt with the whole team's performance, they have really supported me all week," Gerrans said after a memorable day for the first Australian registered team to race the (elite) World Tour.
Personally, it was no less memorable for Valverde in his first race after serving a two-year doping ban.
"I'm super happy, I can't believe it," said Valverde after clinching the tour's first ever hilltop finish.
"It's an emotional moment for me. The stage suited me. We've put the team at the front and it's a perfect comeback for me," he added.
Third across the line, two seconds adrift, was Portugal's Tiago Machado of RadioShack with another Australian, Michael Rogers of Team Sky, a further two seconds back in fourth.
In the second climb up Willunga Hill, Gerrans appeared to have the better line but Valverde rallied to edge him out for a dramatic win.
The race will now be decided in Sunday's 20-lap street dash around Elder Park on the outskirts of Adelaide.
STAGE 5 RESULTS
1 Alejandro Valverde (Spa/Movistar) 3:45:48
2 Simon Gerrans (Aus/GreenEDGE) same time
3 Tiago Machado (Por/RadioShack-Nissan) 0:00:02
4 Michael Rogers (Aus/Sky Procycling) 0:00:04
5 Rohan Dennis (Aus/UNI SA - Australia) 0:00:07
6 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor/Sky Procycling) 0:00:12
7 Javier Moreno (Spa/Movistar) 0:00:13
8 Jan Bakelants (Bel/RadioShack-Nissan) same time
9 Jack Bauer (NZl/Garmin-Barracuda) 0:00:26
10 Eduard Vorganov (Rus/Katusha) same time
11 Michael Matthews (Aus/Rabobank) 0:00:29
12 Linus Gerdemann (Ger/RadioShack-Nissan) 0:00:32
13 Gerald Ciolek (Ger/Omega Pharma-QuickStep) 0:00:43
14 Danny Pate (USA/Sky Procycling) 0:00:55
15 Angel Madrazo (Spa/Movistar) 0:01:05
16 Serge Pauwels (Bel/Omega Pharma-QuickStep) 0:01:18
17 Martin Kohler (Swi/BMC) same time
18 Jose Joaquin Rojas (Spa/Movistar) same time
19 Alessandro Ballan (Ita/BMC) 0:01:50
20 Blel Kadri (Fra/AG2R La Mondiale) 0:02:22
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1 Simon Gerrans (Aus/GreenEDGE) 18:49:24
2 Alejandro Valverde (Spa/Movistar) same time
3 Tiago Machado (Por/RadioShack-Nissan) 0:00:08
4 Michael Rogers (Aus/Sky Procycling) 0:00:14
5 Rohan Dennis (Aus/UNI SA - Australia) same time
6 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor/Sky Procycling) 0:00:18
7 Jan Bakelants (Bel/RadioShack-Nissan) 0:00:19
8 Javier Moreno (Spa/Movistar) 0:00:23
9 Michael Matthews (Aus/Rabobank) 0:00:29
10 Eduard Vorganov (Rus/Katusha) 0:00:32
11 Jack Bauer (NZl/Garmin-Barracuda) 0:00:36
12 Linus Gerdemann (Ger/RadioShack-Nissan) 0:00:42
13 Gerald Ciolek (Ger/Omega Pharma-QuickStep) 0:00:47
14 Angel Madrazo (Spa/Movistar) 0:01:15
15 Martin Kohler (Swi/BMC) 0:01:16
16 Jose Joaquin Rojas (Spa/Movistar) 0:01:27
17 Serge Pauwels (Bel/Omega Pharma-QuickStep) 0:01:28
18 Alessandro Ballan (Ita/BMC) 0:02:00
19 Blel Kadri (Fra/AG2R La Mondiale) 0:02:30
20 Xavier Florencio Cabrè (Spa/Katusha) 0:02:33