Enrique Morcillo and Hugo Drechou win the queen stage of the Andalucía Bike Race by GARMIN 2023

The fifth day of the Andalucía Bike Race by GARMIN 2023 was reserved for the queen stage of this edition. A Skoda Super Stage won by Enrique Morcillo and Hugo Drechou in men and Katazina Sosna and Irina Luetzelschwab in women after an exciting stage.

Enrique-Drechou and Sosna-Luetzelschwab win the fifth stage of the Andalucía Bike Race by GARMIN 2023

The Skoda Super Stage offered a spectacular route of more than 92 kilometers and nearly 2,000 meters of positive difference in altitude through the province of Cordoba. The stage left Cordoba towards La Canchuela to meet a new section called 'La Cuesta del Hielo', recovered from the first editions. Afterwards, the riders would pass through the Fangorn Forest and the mythical ascent to El Reventón before descending the incredible Loma de los Escalones that would lead them to the finish line in the Asomadilla Park.

From the first kilometers of the long Skoda Super Stage, the leaders Wout Alleman and Fabian Rabensteiner (Wilier Pirelli Factory) took control of the race closely followed by Enrique Morcillo and Hugo Drechou (BUFF®-Megamo Team), who were the only ones who could keep up with them. The overall leaders at the finish declared: "Today the plan was to control the situation a bit. After half of the race we stayed in front with Morcillo and Drechou of the BUFF®-Megamo Team and for us it was a good situation. We were able to go with them and reach the finish together. We are very happy with the stage.

After a good collaboration, the two pairs have played the stage victory at the finish line located in the Asomadilla Park. Morcillo and Drechou have won and have thus achieved their first stage victory in this edition of Andalucía Bike Race by GARMIN. "Two days ago we arrived third, yesterday second and we were already looking forward to get on the top. Yesterday we already talked about the idea of going with the leaders and the plan went great. We collaborated between the two pairs and on the last climb we were in front all the way to the finish".

With the good result achieved in the Skoda Super Stage, Alleman and Rabensteiner consolidate even more their leadership in the general classification and arrive at the Oakley Finisher Stage with an eight-minute margin over the Italians Francesco Failli and Riccardo Chiarini (Taddei Factory Team), who were third in the stage and maintain the second position in the general classification.

In the elite women's category, the pair that took the lead at the start of the day were Stefanie Dohrn and Lejla Njemcevic (Canyon Allebike). The German and the Serbian were more than two minutes ahead of leaders Katazina Sosna and Irina Luetzelschwab (Team Torpado BULLS Swiss), but the Team Torpado BULLS Swiss duo took advantage of their superiority on the descent to hunt them down and take the stage win in a sprint. "It wasn't an easy day because Stefanie [Dohrn] and Lejla [Njemcevic] were leading, but the last descent was going well for us and we were able to close the margin and end up winning the stage."

Sosna and Luetzelschwab's victory is the third in their personal tally and they maintain a lead that they will have to defend in the Oakley Finisher Stage. Both lead the overall with a minute and a half margin over Dohrn and Njemcevic, while Txell Figueras and Janina Wüst (BUFF®-Megamo Team) have lost some ground and are now six minutes off the overall lead.

The Skoda Super Stage will give way tomorrow to the Oakley Finisher Stage, which will close the 13th edition of Andalucía Bike Race by GARMIN. The end of the race will be a short but intense stage, with 48 kilometers and more than 1,000 meters of elevation gain. The stage will leave in the direction of the Loma de los Escalones to climb the mythical ascent of Arrastraculos. From there it will go to Los Villares, the amusement park of Santo Domingo and the finish line in the Parque de la Asomadilla.

STAGE 5 CLASSIFICATION - UCI ELITE MEN CATEGORY

1. Enrique Morcillo – Hugo Drechou BUFF®-MEGAMO TEAM 03:42:25
2. Fabian Rabensteiner - Wout Alleman WILIER PIRELLI FACTORY 03:42:26
3. Francesco Failli – Riccardo Chiarini TADDEI FACTORY TEAM 03:45:09

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION – UCI ELITE MEN CATEGORY

1. Fabian Rabensteiner – Wout Alleman WILIER PIRELLI FACTORY 12:49:37
2. Francesco Failli – Riccardo Chiarini TADDEI FACTORY TEAM 12:57:40
3. Roberto Bou – Miguel Múñoz CANNONDALE VAS ARABAY 12:58:30

STAGE 5 CLASSIFICATION - UCI ELITE WOMEN CATEGORY

1. Katazina Sosna – Irina Luetzelschwab TEAM TORPADO BULLS SWISS 04:28:08
2. Lejla Njemcevic - Stefanie Dohrn CANYON ALLEBIKE 04:28:10
3. Txell Figueras – Janina Wüst BUFF®-MEGAMO TEAM 04:31:56

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION – UCI ELITE WOMEN CATEGORY

1. Katazina Sosna – Irina Luetzelschwab TEAM TORPADO BULLS SWISS 15:49:10
2. Lejla Njemcevic - Stefanie Dohrn CANYON ALLEBIKE 15:50:44
3. Txell Figueras – Janina Wüst BUFF®-MEGAMO TEAM 15:55:33