Pavel Bittner defied the odds to beat favored sprinters Wout van Aert and Kaden Groves in a dash to the finish on Stage 5 of the Vuelta a España 2024 on Wednesday.

The 21-year-old Czech rider took the challenge to the sprinters at the end of a flat 177-kilometer run from Fuente del Maestre to Seville, edging Belgian star Van Aert to the line.

• Subscribe To FloBikes To Catch All The Best Cycling, News And Highlights
• Sepp Kuss, Primoz Roglic To Battle For Wide Open Vuelta a España 2024
• Primoz Roglic Gets Comeback Win In Stage 4 Of Vuelta a España 2024

"It's unbelievable," Bittner told Eurosport. "Only a few days ago, I got my first pro win, so to get my first win at my first Vuelta, I still can't believe it.

"To beat Wout van Aert, one of the best long sprinters in the world, is just crazy. I told the guys today that we could do it, and I really believed in it. When the opportunity came, I really went for it, full gas."

Primoz Roglic remains in the leader's red jersey as he seeks a record-equaling fourth Vuelta title. Van Aert is in green as the sprinter with the most points.

Roglic, who won the first mountain stage on Tuesday, leads Joao Almeida by eight seconds overall. Enric Mas is third at 32 seconds.

The peloton heads back into the mountains on Thursday for Stage 6, which features four categorized climbs along the 185.5-kilometer route between Jerez de la Frontera and Yunquera.

Catch All The Best Races, Highlights, Insight, News And More On FloBikes

FloBikes is the streaming home to some of the best cycling from across the globe. Check out the broadcast schedule to watch more of your favorites in action.

FloBikes Archived Footage

Video footage from each event will be archived and stored in a video library for FloBikes subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscriptions.

Join The Conversation On FloBikes Social

• Follow us on Twitter @FloBikes
• Follow us on Instagram @flobikes
• Follow us on TikTok @flobikes
• Watch us on YouTube
• Like us on Facebook