MANOSQUE, France -- Yaroslav Popovych surged home at the end of the 178-kilometer fifth stage of the Paris-Nice cycling race in Manosque to give Discovery Channel its second victory in succession on Friday.
The 27-year-old Ukrainian, a former under-23 world champion, broke away in the last climb to finish on his own and hold the chasing peloton at bay.
Italian Davide Rebellin finished in the main bunch to retain his overall leader's yellow jersey with a 6-second lead over Popovych's teammate Alberto Contador, winner of the previous stage in Mende.
Winner of a Tour de France stage in similar fashion last year, Popovych was mentioned by Lance Armstrong as one of his most gifted heirs in the Discovery Channel team, and if he did not quite deliver last season, he showed his strength on Friday.
"I found myself in the break thinking I would be working for [American leader] Levi [Leipheimer] and Alberto. Little by little, I gained confidence," he said.
Popovych was, with former Tour de France prologue winner David Zabriskie, the rider with the highest profile in the 13-man break after 9 kilometers.
The leading group lost riders in the four climbs on the day's menu and only seven were left on the last hill when the Ukrainian attacked.
"I attacked because I saw the others were tired. It's the kind of stage I like, with bumps and changes of pace but not so hard as yesterday when the last climb was too grueling for me," he said.
"What we're going to do now? I have no idea," he added with a smile when asked about his team's plans in the last weekend of the race.
Discovery Channel looked by far the strongest outfit in the race and Saturday's tough 200-kilometer stage between Brignoles and Cannes, including nine climbs, looks ideal for their third man, Leipheimer, the recent winner of the Tour of California.
The stage was halted for half an hour shortly after the start in Sorgues when a dead man was found hanging from a tree on the race course.