Paris Nice 2008 stage 5

Quick Step's Carlos Barredo won Friday's, March 14 fifth stage of the Paris-Nice cycling race with Robert Gesink of Rabobank holding on to the leader's yellow jersey.

Barredo has time to celebrate before the battle for 2nd is settled

Barredo split from his four breakaway companions 10km from the finish to beat home Dutch rider Karsten Kroon by four seconds with Italy's Manuele Mori in third. The peloton crossed the line two minutes adrift of the leading pack at the end of the 172.5km run.

The day's ride featured a 24-strong group who broke from the pack after 50km with 16 riders surging clear on the final 18.5km circuit with a two and a half minute cushion on the peloton.

On Moreau's initiative five cyclists then went clear 16km from home before Barrado made his winning move. The 26-year-old Spaniard moved up to sixth in the overall standings behind Dutch rider Gesink.

Saturday's penultimate sixth stage is a 206km run, the longest of the event, between Sisteron to Cannes.

Reaction
"It's a great win but not necessarily the best of my career," said Barredo. His manager Patrick Lefevere predicted: "He can finish in the top ten in one of the big Tours."

“This is my first victory wearing the Quick Step jersey - a very enthusiastic Barredo said - I am really happy. I had a small rosary in my mouth that a member of my fan club gave me. Today was the first time I wore the rosary and it brought me good luck! The team was excellent once again today. Tosatto tried more than once but they didn't let him get away so I decided to try much luck. I moved over to the Quickstep Team as it is the best team in the World. I love the classic races and one-day races, but it seems like I also do pretty well in stage races too - lets not forget my 10th place in the 2007 Vuelta Espana. My dream? Well, I'm sure it will seem strange for a Spaniard like myself, but I'd love to win the Flanders”.

“We are extremely pleased with how things are going at the Paris-Nice - Team manager Patrick Lefevere said - our objective was to win a stage and get good classifications. We have already won 3 stages and 3 of our athletes are amongst the first 1O in the general classifications. Furthermore, for the first time in the team's history we are leading the team classifications. We've managed to create an excellent equilibrium building a team that is able to perform well in both one-day and stage races”.

1. Carlos Barredo (ESP/QST) 3hr 58min 1sec.
2. Karsten Kroon (NED/CSC) 0:04.
3. Massimiliano Mori (ITA/LAM) 0:04.
4. Christophe Moreau (FRA/AGR) 0:04.
5. Pierre Rolland (FRA/C.A) 0:05.
6. Simon Gerrans (AUS/C.A) 1:33.
7. Maxime Monfort (BEL/COF) 1:34.
8. Alexandre Botcharov (RUS/C.A) 1:34.
9. Ivan Santaromita (ITA/LIQ) 1:34.
10. Mathieu Perget (FRA/GCE) 1:34.

General Classification
1. Robert Gesink (NED/RAB) 21hr 10min 30sec.
2. Davide Rebellin (ITA/GST) 0:31.
3. Rinaldo Nocentini (ITA/A2R) 0:35.
4. Yaroslav Popovych (UKR/SIL) 0:42.
5. Juan Manuel Garate (ESP/QST) 1:05.
6. Carlos Barredo (ESP/QST) 1:40.
7. Luis Leon Sanchez (ESP/GCE) 2:08.
8. Gorka Verdugo (ESP/EUS) 2:11.
9. Alexander Efimkin (RUS/QST) 2:33.
10. Clement Lhotellerie (FRA/SKS) 3:27.