Astana's Lopez finishes 5th at Vuelta a Espana Stage 19

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - Miguel Angel Lopez finished 5th atop the final climb of stage 19 Naturlandia in Andorra. The Astana Team captain lost 52 seconds to the stage winner Thibaut Pinot, but took some seconds over a few rivals. After this stage Lopez moved down to one position, now he is 5th in the general classification, 2 minutes 29 seconds behind the Britton Simon Yates, still the red jersey of the Vuelta a España, Kazinform has learnt from the club's press service.

"Today I did my best, but, honestly, I was just empty. It was a tough stage for me since I am sick a bit and during the stage could not breathe normally; I had some problem with respiration. So, it was impossible for me to do something more in this stage. In the final I tired to counterattack for several times, but in the end of the day it was too much for me, I was dead crossing the finish line. I hope to recover a bit through the night to be ready for the queen stage. Anyway, I will keep on fighting tomorrow and let's see how it will be," said Miguel Angel Lopez.

Stage 19 from Lleida to Naturlandia in Andorra (154,4 km) became a place of another hard GC battle. In the middle of the last climb there was just a small group of GC contenders with Miguel Angel Lopez among them supported firstly by Jan Hirt and later by Pello Bilbao. After a number of attacks three riders went away: Pinot, Yates and Steven Kruijswijk. In the final it was Pinot, who won the stage ahead of Yates and Kruijswijk.

Miguel Angel Lopez finished in the first chasing group 52 seconds behind the winner, taking a fifth place.

The queen mountain stage of the Vuelta a España will be held tomorrow: it will be a super hard 97-km-long distance in Andorra with 6 climbs in the menu. The stage will open the name of the new winner of La Vuelta.