Vuelta a Espana 2013 Results: Stage 5 Standings, Highlights and Recap

Australian Michael Matthews held off a late charge from a large pack of riders to win the fifth stage of the 2013 Vuelta a Espana. Maximiliano Richeze and Gianni Meersman were also in the mix during the final sprint, finishing second and third respectively.

The stage featured a breakaway group of riders who were able to maintain their lead until the latter stages of the campaign. They were chased down, however, and that's when Matthews was able to grab control and pick up the victory.

While the 22-year-old rising star is undoubtedly the stage's top story, let's check out how the other riders finished in the challenging stage, which featured a couple of different phases. The results are followed by the overall standings and a recap of Stage 5.

Stage 5 Results

For a complete look at the Stage 5 results, visit the race's official site.

Overall Standings

For a complete look at the overall standings, visit the race's official site.

Stage 5 Recap

Stage 5 featured rolling terrain that started off as a sprinter's stage with very few major climbs but eventually started to get up into the mountains, where the field began to level out. It was a really balanced stage for every rider involved.

A group of five broke away from the pack to set the pace. Winner Anacona, Jurgen Van de Walle, Antonio Piedra, Arnaud Courteille and, for the second straight day, Nicolas Edet were the riders who distanced themselves from the peloton.

The riders encountered some rain during the final climb of the stage. It passed, but not before providing some tricky conditions and dropping the temperature to give the cyclists something else to worry about, especially those making a charge toward the front.

Ultimately, the lead group did a nice job of maintaining its edge for a large portion of the stage. But, as expected, the peloton was able to start making up some ground as they began to utilize that extra energy they saved in the early going.

As expected, they were able to catch the leaders, but not before Courteille made one final individual push to pull away. He built an advantage of his own for awhile, but it simply wasn't enough to keep the other riders at bay in the end.

Once every member of the lead pack was reeled in, it was a sprint to the finish, and Matthews took full advantage of the opportunity. It marked one of the biggest victories of his young career, which is looking brighter with each passing tour.

In the overall classification, Vincenzo Nibali maintained his narrow overall lead. Christopher Horner and Nicolas Roche are both within 10 seconds of the leader, and there's a total of 18 riders within a minute of the top spot through five stages.

Stage 6 is scheduled for Thursday. The trek from Guijuelo to Caceres should serve as another opportunity for sprinters to shine.