The third sprint day in the opening five stages at the 2024 Vuelta a Espana, things were relatively relaxed in the peloton for much of stage 5 this Wednesday. Good news for Antonio Tiberi, who safely navigated his first day in the White Jersey of Best Young Rider.
In the end, it was Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL's Pavel Bittner who sprinted to the stage win ahead of Wout van Aert and Kaden Groves, with Tiberi crossing the line in a comfortable 46th place on the same time as the stage winner and his nearest rivals.
"It’s good to wear the white jersey, a white helmet, white gloves, to keep fresh!" Tiberi reflected in his post-stage interview, referring to the intense heat the riders are competing in currently as temperatures touched 40 degrees Celsius for the second day in a row. "But today was quite an easy stage. Today was maybe a bit boring at the start but we always try to have some good time with my teammates. For sure tomorrow will be another nice stage and we’ll see how it goes."
With a narrow 3 second advantage over Lennert van Eetvelt in the White Jersey classification and with the likes of Mattias Skjelmose (20 seconds down) and Matthew Riccitello (26 seconds down) breathing down his neck, Tiberi is far from comfortable in the classification lead at this early part of the Grand Tour as he looks to double up having won the White Jersey at the Giro d'Italia earlier in the year.
🇪🇸 #LaVuelta24 | ST 05 👍Antonio Tiberi retained his 4th place in the GC and held on to the white jersey after a thrilling and rapid finish. We’re eagerly anticipating Stage 6, with its rolling terrain and punchy finale in Yunquera. #RideAsOne #rideforGino 📸 @SprintCycling
