McNulty holds lead in Basque Country with Pogačar 5th

It’s all unchanged in the top positions of the general classification of the Itzulia Basque Country after the 5th stage (Hondarribia-Ondarroa of 160.2 km) won by Mikel Frolich Honoré (Deceunicnk-Quick Step) ahead of teammate Josef Cerny and Julien Bernard (Trek-Segafredo).

The main group arrived 28″ arrears with 10th place for Tadej Pogačar and 24th for Brandon McNulty.

The American from UAE Team Emirates will face the last stage of the race, from Ondarroa-Arrate (111.9 km) with seven classified climbs, in the jersey of the overall leader (23 “ahead of Primoz Roglic).
Pogačar (43 ”gap from his teammate) will race with the leader’s jersey for the best climbers’ ranking.

 
McNulty: “Today was tough with the wind and the speed but we did what we could to save energy. I guess I’m a little nervous but it’s been quite exciting to lead a race at this level. We’re in a really strong position with myself and Tadej in the mix for the GC. It could be rain tomorrow but my best results have always been in the wet which is surprising as I’m from the desert, so let’s see what happens tomorrow.”

Pogačar: “Today’s stage was a little less stressful than yesterday’s, but it was still a tough day: we faced challenging stages day after day, so tomorrow it will not be easy to deal with such a hard finish.
It will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow. Our goal is to ensure that the team manages to win and keep the leaders jersey. We hope to be able to defend it”.

Order of arrival 5th stage:
1. Mikkel Frolich Honorè (Deceunicnk-Quick Step) 3h39’54”
2. Josef Cerny (Deceuninck-Quick Step) s.t.
3. Julien Bernard (Trek-Segafredo) +17″
10. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) +28″

General classification after the 5th stage:
1. Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) 16h05’43”
2. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) +23″
3. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) +28″
5. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) +43″