Grenadiers sign off Valencia with two top 10s on GC

A dramatic finale of the Volta Comunitat Valenciana saw Ben Turner sprint to seventh place on the fifth stage.

An early break on the 95km stage saw AJ August and Kim Heiduk in a select group of 21, tackling the category three Puerto del Oronet.

August continued to show his race winning form, pushing on with six others up the final climb of the stage, the Puerto del Garbi.

It was downhill for the final 42km into Valencia, with Heiduk able to join back on the front group with 36km remaining. The chasing peloton had a gap of 1:40, with Magnus Sheffield keeping Turner out of trouble.

With just 9km to go, August led into a bend and slipped out the corner, while with just 3km to go, Kim Heiduk had the same fate, coming down behind Julien Bernard (Lidl - Trek). Both riders were able to cross the finish line safely.

Heading into the final straight, the peloton were just behind the early break, with Turner launching his sprint in a bid to catch them. Unfortunately, it was just too late with Turner taking the bunch sprint to finish seventh on the stage.

Sheffield, who delivered Turner to the line, finished in the bunch to take sixth on the GC, while Turner’s sprinting antics saw him claim eighth overall.

Speaking after the stage, August said:

“Yeah it’s a bit of a pity. We knew the gap was coming down and I was just trying to keep the pace high and overcooked the corner. It’s a tough one - two crashes in two days - but that’s cycling.

“I was still believing a lot, especially with Kim. He’s super fast so we were believing in him, but it just wasn’t meant to be.

“It’s bad luck and I felt for him because these opportunities don’t come often and today would have been a good one. It is what it is.

“It’s been a big step for me this week so overall, a lot of up and down, but I have to go home happy.”