Winning the points jersey in the Tour de France would make the season for most sprinters.

But for Thor Hushovd, the stocky Norwegian who snagged the green jersey this year without winning a stage, taking a victory in Wednesday’s 176km fifth stage at the Vuelta a España is the highlight he’ll cherish most.

“This is the biggest win of the year for me,” said Hushovd, who made it over a punchy climb 12km from the finish to drive home the sprint. “I won the green jersey at the Tour this year, but to win a stage in the Vuelta is very big for me.”

Hushovd came off the fifth wheel and roared to a relatively easy victory ahead of Miguel Angel Martin Perdiguero (Phonak) and Josep Jufre (Relax-Fuenlabrada) as part of a 36-rider leading group. Brad McGee (FDJeux) finished safely in the group to retain the overall lead. The hard part was getting there for the big Norwegian. The short but steep 4km climb up the Cat. 3 Alto del Castillo trimmed the peloton to less than 40 riders as Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) followed an attack by Joaquim Rodriguez (Saunier Duval) that sent a charge through the peloton.

Tom Danielson (Discovery Channel) and Christian Vande Velde (CSC) both made it with the leaders, but disaster struck for Floyd Landis (Phonak) who suffered a mechanical at the base of the climb (see below).

Also missing the cut were sprint specialists Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) and Erik Zabel (T-Mobile). Tom Boonen (Quick Step) muscled his way over the climb, but Quick Step bungled the tactics on the final run, opening the door for Hushovd.

“The sprint might have looked easy, but I suffered a lot to stay with the favorites over the climb,” said the Crédit Agricole rider. “I’m in good shape and I had good legs today. I’m glad I won the stage.”

Boonen, in contrast, was livid. The Belgian star had the numbers in his favor, with Quick Step teammates Paolo Bettini and Juan Miguel Mercado making the selection.

Without Petacchi in the lead group, Boonen dug hard over the climb and chased back on with 5km to go. He rolled up alongside Bettini and said he was good to go for the sprint. Mercado, however, had already counter-attacked with Samuel Sanchez (Euskatel) on the harrowing descent, prompting Bettini to chase down his own teammate.

With 1.5km to go, Mercado was leading the bunch with Bettini on his wheel when the Spanish rider squirted to the left side of the road. Bettini followed Mercado before realizing he was sitting up.

“We had the advantage today, but nothing came of it,” said Bettini, who seemed unfazed by the drama. “The most important thing is my legs are feeling better for the world championships. We’ll try another day.”

In the meantime, Sanchez attacked again with 1km to go, forcing Boonen to lead the chase. The hard-charging peloton swarmed past him and the frustrated Flanders-Roubaix champion coasted across the line 22 seconds slower.

“It was a combination of errors and misunderstandings,” Boonen said. “I lost the chance to win a stage I should have won.”

Disaster for Landis; Danielson, VdV okay

Landis’s hopes for a strong performance in the overall classification took a blow when a mechanical at the base of the final climb left him with a long wait for a bike change.

Landis tried to trade bikes with Phonak teammate Martin Elminger, but couldn’t carry on until the team car arrived with a spare bike. Landis finished 166th at 7:52 back, falling from 34th overall to 92nd at 9:33 back.

“It happened right at the worst part of the climb, at the cobbled section where the road was very narrow,” explained Phonak team manager John Lelangue. “The rear gears broke and it took us a long time for the car to come forward with the bike.”

By the time Landis could get going again, he had already missed the major split in the peloton. Phonak ordered Elminger and Ignacio Gutierrez to help him chase back, but it was too late.

“When it happened in that moment, it’s impossible to chase back,” Lelangue said. “Now we can look for some stages for Floyd in the mountains and the time trial. It’s not all lost. Look what happened to Oscar Pereiro in the Tour. He lost a lot of time early, but he still finished in the top 10 and won a stage.”

There were more troubles for Phonak, which lost Quique Gutierrez to injuries while Santiago Botero was nearly taken out when Leonardo Piepoli (Saunier Duval) and José Azevedo (Discovery Channel) crashed on the descent. Botero was able to chase back on to finish with the lead group.

Danielson and Vande Velde, meanwhile, both made it safely through the chaos. Danielson came through 30th to move to ninth overall at 1:17 back while Vande Velde was 14th and is now 15th overall at 1:25 back.

“I felt like I was in Flanders more than I was in Spain,” said Vande Velde, referring to the cobblestone section at the bottom of the climb. “I think a lot of today was being in good position on that climb. It wasn’t so bad. When you have guys like Boonen and Hushovd getting over, you can’t call it a real test.”

With Azevedo crashing again, only Manuel Beltrán and Danielson were in the front group for Discovery Channel. For Vande Velde - who was the only Team CSC rider to finish in the lead group with captain Carlos Sastre - the first serious challenge comes in Thursday’s summit finish to Valdelinares.

“Tomorrow is the first real test,” Vande Velde said. “That’s when we’ll see how strong guys really are.”

Some of the other bigger names missing the cut included 2001 Vuelta champion Angel Casero (Comunidad Valenciana) and 2002 champion Aitor González (Euskaltel), both in the second group at 51 seconds back.

Barry on the march

Riders woke up to cooler temperatures, at least 10 degrees below the scorching 100-plus heat the peloton has endured since leaving Granada on Saturday.

The race quickly lost three riders: Iban Mayo (Euskaltel), Quique Gutierrez (Phonak) and Mirco Lorenzetto (Domina Vacanze).

Mayo has been struggling since before the Tour de France with back problems. The Basque star’s season is over and he will head to Italy to work with a back specialist. Gutierrez finally succumbed to injuries, including a broken rib which he sustained in back-to-back crashes in stages two and three. Lorenzetto, meanwhile, is the second rider from the Italian team to abandon.

Wednesday’s course drove across the heart of “España profunda,” or deep Spain, rolling past whitewashed villages, landmark castles and ancient windmills. There was a string of attacks in the opening 50km before a move stuck.

Sneaking away at 64km were eight riders, including Discovery’s Michael Barry, Jakob Piil (CSC), Staf Scheirlinckx (Cofidis), Eric Leblacher (Crédit Agricole), Patrick Calcagni (Liquigas-Bianchi), Thorwald Veneberg (Rabobank) and Garcia Jorge (Relax-Fuenlabrada).

The main bunch was content to let the leading eight take their moment in the Iberian sun. The break rolled through the day’s third points sprint at 104km holding a lead of 4:08.

The peloton started to increase the pace over the unrated Puerto de Cabreja at 141km, causing the lead break to splinter. Things came back together, but the day’s adventure was over at 161km.

That was the base of the final climb, when a next series of adventures began in earnest.

Results - Stage 5
1. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Credit Agricole, 3:41:52
2. M. A. Martin Perdiguero (Sp), Phonak
3. Josep Jufre (Sp), Relax Fuenlabrada
4. José Ivan Gutierrez (Sp), Illes Balears
5. David Blanco (Sp), ECV
6. Unai Yus (Sp), Bouygues Telecom
7. Mauricio Ardila (Col), Davitamon-Lotto
8. Joaquin Rodriguez (Sp), Saunier Duval
9. Samuel Sanchez (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi
10. Egoi Martinez (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi
FullResults

>Overall, after 5 stages
1. Bradley Mcgee (Aus), Francaise des Jeux, 18:13:53
2. Leonardo Bertagnolli (I), Cofidis, at 0:32
3. Joaquin Rodriguez (Sp), Saunier Duval, at 0:41
4. Francisco Javier Vila (Sp), Lampre, at 0:42
5. Unai Yus (Sp), Bouygues Telecom, at 0:53
6. Denis Menchov (Rus), Rabobank, at 1:05
7. Carlos Sastre (Sp), CSC, at 1:12
8. M. A. Martin Perdiguero (Sp), Phonak, at 1:17
9. Tom Danielson (USA), Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team, at 1:17
10. Roberto Heras (Sp), Liberty Seguros, at 1:20
FullResults

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