Tour of The Alps: Simon Yates wins first event of season
- Published
Yates had increased his lead going into Friday's final stage
Britain's Simon Yates won his first event of the season with victory at the Tour of the Alps.
The 28-year-old Team Bike Exchange rider had led the race since winning Tuesday's second stage.
He finished 58 seconds ahead of Spaniard Pello Bilbao with Russian Aleksandr Vlasov in third.
German Felix Grossschartner won Friday's fifth and final 121km stage between Valle del Chiese and Riva del Garda after a solo attack.
Yates, who finished in the peloton, has been using the race as his final warm-up for the Giro d'Italia, which begins in Sicily on 8 May.
"It's really fantastic," he said. "The team did a great job today, they really controlled the start and rode all day and in the final were fantastic again.
"It was a short day, there wasn't so much action in the [general classification] but it was a really hard day with a lot of stress in the peloton and with that fast descent to the finish it was always nervous.
"I feel good. Now I just need to look after myself, try not to get sick, and take it from there."
Britain's Hugh Carthy of EF Education-Nippo finished fifth overall after a strong final day.
Stage 5 results
1. Felix Grossschartner (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 3hrs 03mins 38secs
2. Nicolas Roche (Ire) Team DSM +34secs
3. Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) Israel Start-up Nation same time
4. Gianni Moscon (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers +40secs
5. Alejandro Osorio Carvajal (Col) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA same time
6. Romain Bardet (Fra) Team DSM same time
7. Luis Leon Sanchez (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech same time
8. Ruben Guerreiro (Por) EF Education-Nippo same time
9. Mark Padun (Ukr) Bahrain Victorious same time
10. Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe same time
Final Standings
1. Simon Yates (GB) Team BikeExchange 18hrs 36mins 06secs,
2. Pello Bilbao Lopez De Armentia (Spa) Bahrain Victorious +58secs
3. Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Astana-Premier Tech +1min 06secs
4. Jefferson Cepeda (Ecu) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec +2mins 25secs
5. Hugh Carthy (GB) EF Education-Nippo +2mins 37secs
6. Pavel Sivakov (Rus) Ineos Grenadiers +2mins 44secs
7. Nairo Quintana (Col) Team Arkea-Samsic +2mins 54secs
8. Ruben Guerreiro (Por) EF Education-Nippo +3mins 12secs
9. Romain Bardet (Fra) Team DSM same time
10. Nicholas Schultz (Aus) Team BikeExchange +3mins 36secs
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