In an unexpected and chaotic finish, Spaniard Igor Arrieta (UAE Team Emirates – XRG) outsprinted his breakaway companion, Portuguese rider Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain – Victorious), to win the fifth stage of the 2016 Giro d’Italia, a rainy 203-kilometer stage between Praia a Mare and Potenza.
Arrieta, who pulled off the epic victory, recovered phenomenally from a crash and a mistake on a corner in the final kilometers, and against all odds, took the win. Uruguayan Thomas Silva (XDS Astana Team) finished third, 51 seconds behind the two leaders.
The race exploded practically from the start. The rain arrived very early and turned the stage into a nervous and extremely dangerous day from the very first kilometers.
Victor Campenaerts, Einer Rubio, Guillermo Thomas Silva, Igor Arrieta, Christian Scaroni, Jhonatan Narváez, Ben Turner, and Afonso Eulálio were some of the big names who managed to join the massive breakaway group, while Lidl-Trek struggled to control the situation around Giulio Ciccone.
With 62 kilometers to go, Igor Arrieta decided to get ahead of the other breakaway favorites and attacked solo even before the official start of the Montagna Grande di Viggiano, a 6.6-kilometer climb with an average gradient of 9.2% and ramps approaching 12%. Only Afonso Eulálio managed to truly respond. The Portuguese rider dropped his chasing companions one by one until he caught the Spaniard midway up the climb.
Behind them, the peloton practically gave up on the stage. Ciccone found himself isolated with very few teammates and even ended up personally leading the group while Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe controlled the pace without much urgency.
The best Colombian of the day was Egan Bernal (Netcompany Ineos) from Zipaquirá, finishing 33rd, more than 7 minutes behind the favorites, while Einer Rubio (Movistar Team) from Boyacá finished 52nd after being part of the day’s breakaway.
As for the new general classification, it saw a shake-up at the top, with Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain – Victorious) taking over the Maglia Rosa, while Egan Bernal (Netcompany Ineos) dropped to 9th place, now 6:16 behind the new leader.
The Giro d’Italia continues this Thursday with the sixth stage, a flat 141-kilometer stage connecting Paestum with Naples.
Giro d’Italia (2.UWT)
Results Stage 5 | Praia a Mare – Potenza (203 km)
| 1 | Igor Arrieta | UAE Team Emirates – XRG | 5:07:51 |
| 2 | Afonso Eulálio | Bahrain – Victorious | 0:02 |
| 3 | Thomas Silva | XDS Astana Team | 0:51 |
| 4 | Lorenzo Milesi | Movistar Team | 1:29 |
| 5 | Christian Scaroni | XDS Astana Team | 1:30 |
| 6 | Gianmarco Garofoli | Soudal Quick-Step | 1:30 |
| 7 | Koen Bouwman | Team Jayco AlUla | 3:11 |
| 8 | Johannes Kulset | Uno-X Mobility | 3:13 |
| 9 | Andrea Raccagni | Soudal Quick-Step | 3:29 |
| 10 | Ludovico Crescioli | Team Polti VisitMalta | 4:42 |
Ranking General Individual
| 1 | Afonso Eulalio | Bahrain Victorious | 21:27:43 |
| 2 | Igor Arrieta | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 2:51 |
| 3 | Christian Scaroni | XDS Astana Team | 3:34 |
| 4 | Andrea Raccagni | Soudal Quick-Step | 3:39 |
| 5 | Johannes Kulset | Uno-X Mobility | 5:17 |
| 6 | Giulio Ciccone | Lidl-Trek | 6:12 |
| 7 | Jan Christen | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 6:16 |
| 8 | Florian Stork | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 6:16 |
| 9 | Egan Bernal | Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team | 6:16 |
| 10 | Thymen Arensman | Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team | 6:18 |
Source: Revista Mundo Ciclístico