Rodriguez takes stage

Joaquin Rodriguez won the fifth stage of the Vuelta a Espana yesterday as French cyclist Sylvain Chavanel kept the overall leader’s red jersey.

A day after helping Daniel Moreno to victory, Rodriguez had the favour returned by his fellow Spaniard and Katusha teammate to finish the 187-kilometer (116-mile) stage in 4 hours, 42 minutes, 54 seconds.

“I had marked this stage down with an X beforehand,” said Rodriguez, who finished fourth overall last year. “Last year I broke too early. This year I’m unbeatable.”

Defending champion Vincenzo Nibali of Italy was 11th – 11 seconds behind – and Chavanel leads by nine seconds overall from Moreno.

Britain’s Bradley Wiggins was 20th yesterday and lies 21st overall. Today’s stage is a 193.4-kilometre leg from Udeba to Cordoba. Sprinters will be have to be careful to stay close to the leaders or risk losing out on a chance in the final sprint due to a short climb near the finish.