Sir Bradley Wiggins described the finish of the fifth stage of the Tour Of Britain as the toughest so far.
Wiggins finished seventh on the stage which finished in Caerphilly and said to the Tour Of Britain website: "It was certainly the toughest finish, during the day wasn't as hard as yesterday with less wind and a bit warmer.
"But once we hit the circuit it was definitely anyone who had the legs. We knew Dan Martin and Quintana were going to attack so we just used the team for as long as possible. The team again today took the strain and I didn't have to hit the front once.”
"It's a perfect day and tomorrow's another tough one and I certainly wouldn't underestimate it.”
Not underestimating anything was Stage Five winner Bennett, who sealed the biggest win of his career to date, following on from second behind Gerald Ciolek in Kendal.
"I didn't expect to get second the other day so that was a great result for myself and to get first place today is unbelievable, I can't believe it,” said the AN Post Chain Reaction rider.
"I knew coming here that I was going to be in the shop window and really wanted to show what I'm made of. I've been aiming for this for a few months now, trying to get consistency. I have consistency now at the minute and hopefully now there's more to come.”
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 5
1 Sir Bradley Wiggins Sky Procycling 20h 47' 5''
2 Ian Stannard Sky Procycling 0' 37''
3 Martin Elmiger IAM Cycling 0' 43''
POINTS STANDINGS AFTER STAGE 5
1 Sam Bennett AN Post Chain Reaction 35
2 Martin Elmiger IAM Cycling 34
3 Jack Bauer Garmin Sharp 34
KING OF THE MOUNTAINS AFTER STAGE 5
1 Angel Madrazo Ruiz Movistar 54
2 Sean Downey AN Post Chain Reaction 28
3 Anthony Delaplace Sojasun 28
SPRINT STANDINGS AFTER STAGE 5
1 Angel Madrazo Ruiz Movistar 21
2 Aaron Gate AN Post Chain Reaction 18
3 Thomas Scully Team Raleigh 13
YOUNG RIDER STANDINGS AFTER STAGE 5
1 Simon Yates** Great Britain 20h 48' 28''
2 Alistair Slater** Great Britain 7' 30''
3 Thomas Moses** Team Raleigh 7' 49''
TEAM STANDINGS AFTER STAGE 5
1 Sky Procycling 62h 23' 10''
2 IAM Cycling 62h 25' 13'' 2' 3''
3 Omega Pharma Quick-Step 62h 27' 42'' 4' 32''
STAGE 5 COMBATIVITY AWARD
185 Jacob Rathe