Fabio Jakobsen denied Sam Bennett his second consecutive stage win by the finest of margins at the Vuelta a Espana on Tuesday.

Despite a lack of movement in the general classification once again after stage four, there was no shortage of drama at the very last in El Puig.

Bennett had secured a first Vuelta triumph the previous day, marking another fine outing for the Irish riders as Nicolas Roche remained two seconds clear in the red jersey.

But Tuesday's fast and furious ride saw Bennett matched all the way by Jakobsen, who looked to have shaken off his rival in the closing 1.2 kilometres.

A roundabout near the finish saw Bennett take a longer route and seemingly end any hopes of victory, only for a phenomenal response to thrust the Bora-Hansgrohe rider back into contention.

Bennett lunged for the line and looked to have pipped Jakobsen, with a photo finish required to split the pair.

The image put Jakobsen in front by a matter of millimetres for a momentous victory for the 22-year-old Deceuninck–Quick Step man, making his Grand Tour debut in Spain.

"This is a big one for me, especially in the Dutch champion's jersey," he said. "I came here to win a stage at the Vuelta. I'm only 22 and I'm happy I can put this already on my palmares."

Maximilian Walscheid finished third but was relegated to the back of the leading pack upon review, meaning Fernando Gaviria moved onto the podium.

 

CAVAGNA CAN'T MAKE IT

It looked for a time as though it might be another Quick Step rider celebrating on Tuesday, as Remi Cavagna maintained an incredible advantage over the peloton into the closing stages of the race.

Riding alone, the Frenchman was seven seconds up with just 4km remaining. However, he was eventually reeled in and finished 30 seconds behind.

Jakobsen revealed it was an instinctive call for Cavagna to chase the victory himself, explaining: "Remi is just so strong that, when he accelerated out of the corner, he had a gap.

"We said, 'Go, go take your chance,' because if nobody closes, he wins."

 

STAGE RESULT

1. Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-Quick Step) 4:04:16
2. Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe)
3. Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates)
4. Luka Mezgec (Mitchelton-Scott)
5. Marc Sarreau (Groupama-FDJ)

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Nicolas Roche (Team Sunweb) 13:55:30
2. Nairo Quintana (Movistar) +00:02
3. Rigoberto Uran (EF Education First) +00:08

Points Classification

1. Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) 45
2. Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-Quick Step) 34
3. Nairo Quintana (Movistar) 25

King of the Mountains

1. Angel Madrazo Ruiz (Burgos BH) 15
2. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) 5
3. Sander Armee (Lotto Soudal) 4

WHAT'S NEXT?

Just five stages in, the first summit finish of the Vuelta awaits the end of a 165.6km ride from L'Eliana to Observatorio Astrofisico de Javalambre on Wednesday. The final climb should not be enough to end any serious GC hopes just yet, though.