Switched-on Martin extends lead over chasing pack

Ireland’s Dan Martin retained the race lead on yesterday’s fifth stage of the Volta A Catalunya, finishing ninth on the run from Rialp to Lleida and extending his lead over his closest challenger to 14 seconds.

The Garmin-SHARP rider looked to be suffering no ill-effects from his epic solo stage win on Thursday and was active throughout the mainly flat 156km trek yesterday.

Martin was alert from the off and picked up a crucial bonus second midway through the stage after notching third place on an intermediate sprint. He followed that up by picking up three more valuable seconds when several big-name contenders were distanced on the swift run-in to the finish.