Travis McCabe (Israeli Startup Nation) continued to close in on the podium on stage 5 of Tour Colombia 2.1 on Saturday, finishing fourth after a chaotic sprint battle in front of a large crowd in Zipaquira, the home town of Tour de France champion Eoghan Bernal. He finished in fourth place.

The two-time American criterium champion survived the highly technical last 2km to steer stage winner Sebastien Morano (UAE Team Emirates) into the sprint, but in the confusion Morano, Alvaro Hodeg ( Detunink Quickstep) and Honatan Restrepo (Androni Giocattoli Cidermec) finished behind him.

The 180.5 km hilly course from Pipa to Zipaquira was not straightforward for the fast racers. This was because they had to recover for the finish, crossing three categorized climbs in the first 115 km, turning a hard right curve of over 90 degrees before 1 km to go, and turning another curve inside another 1 km.

"Probably about 15 guys came charging in from behind and we went into the corner super hot.

"The Maxxis tires gave me a lot of cornering confidence, so I braked super late, went into the corner super hot, and with 2km to go I was in 5th place. [Morano passed me with about 700 meters to go, then Hodeg passed me. I needed to fight for the wheel a little bit more and watch out for the guys coming up. I made some mistakes.

The result was McCabe's best result since moving to the Israeli WorldTour from the American Continental team Floyd Pro Cycling. He began the season last month at the Vuelta a San Juan in Argentina, where he finished sixth and 11th in two sprint stages. In Colombia, he has two eighth-place finishes while sprinting with teammate Edwin Avila and Israeli Itamar Einhorn.

"Fourth place is good, but not what I wanted," McCabe said. "But I've made steady progress over the last two races. I've made steady progress through the last two races.

McCabe had to contend with two very motivated opponents, Morano and Hodeg. Both Colombians are eager to put their arms up for victory in front of the enthusiastic fans who have gathered to watch them perform. In the five stages so far, Morano has taken all three sprint opportunities.

"It's their home race and they're all Colombians, so it's always nice to see a gringo finish first. Morano is flying right now. It's not easy to sprint at altitude." [Saturday's stage started at more than 2,500 meters elevation, with three climbs of nearly 3,000 meters.

"There are no easy sections in Colombia. Even on the flattest roads you can go 70 km/h or faster." There wasn't much to talk about today. I was fast all day. It took a while for the break to be established, but once it was, everything went at a steady tempo with EF [race leader Sergio Iguita's team]."

Israel Startup Nation caught up with the breakaway with about 16 km to go, moving Edwin Avila and McCabe into sprint position.

"The profile was a little different than what it actually was at the finish line," said McCabe. 'I was expecting a bit more climbing and a flat finish, but it was a pretty fast downhill. It was a chaotic sprint. It was crazy. I think it was the most chaotic sprint of the race. 0]

With a background in criterium racing in the U.S., McCabe is no stranger to technical finishes, and he used his skills to make his way to the podium.

"He jumped into the 90-degree turn at 90 km/h and went straight into a sprint. It was good for me. I like technical races and I like having a corner at the finish. Edwin put me in a good position, but at the end it was just me and Edwin.

While it was disappointing to miss out on the podium, McCabe can take heart in the fact that he is getting closer with each race. However, Sunday's queen stage finish on the 3,290-meter-high Alto del Verjón climb eliminated any chance of a podium finish in Colombia.

"Definitely not tomorrow.

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