Kaden Groves sprints to victory in stage 5 of the Giro d’Italia.
Rain and crashes characterise Giro d’Italia’s fifth stage
The 171 km long fifth stage of the Giro led from Altripalda to the coastal town of Salerno southeast of Naples. On paper, it was another chance for the sprinters, and the race was then also under control of the peloton until the finale. A breakaway of three was never a real danger, but the weather played a decisive role today. On the rain-soaked roads along the coast there were several mass crashes in the last 10 kilometres. Aleksandr Vlasov was also involved in two of these crashes and suffered some bruises and abrasions. Fortunately, the BORA – hansgrohe leader did not suffer any serious injuries. Due to the three-kilometre rule, Aleks did not lose any time in the overall ranking. In the end, K. Groves took the victory from a group of only about 30 remaining riders at the front of the race.
From the Finish Line
“The peloton realized relatively quickly that the roads here were very slippery, especially after Remco’s crashes, as well as in the leading group, where two riders also went down. So the peloton took it relatively easy into the final. In the last 15 kilometres there were a few crashes due to the bad weather conditions and the slippery asphalt. Our riders weren’t affected badly, but Aleks was involved twice. The team reacted immediately and waited for him. Luckily nothing bad happened. He’s doing okay and luckily we didn’t lose any time because the crash happened within the last 3 km.” – Jens Zemke, Sports Director
Both Evenepoel and Cavendish crashed but were able to finish. Evenepoel’s crash was due to a dog running on the course.
Stage 5
1 Kaden GROVES ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK 4:30:19 0:10 0:00
2 Jonathan MILAN BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 4:30:19 0:06 0:00
3 Mads PEDERSEN TREK – SEGAFREDO 4:30:19 0:04 0:00
GC
01 NOR LEKNESSUND Andreas Team DSM 14:35:44
02 BEL EVENEPOEL Remco Soudal Quick-Step + 28
03 FRA PARET-PEINTRE Aurélien AG2R Citroën Team + 30
