05/11/2022
The stage turned out to be spectacular thanks to Mathieu Van der Poel, who set the race on fire with his team and made it an exciting one all the way to the end. And then Vincenzo Nibali, who made it official that this will be his last Giro d’Italia and that at the end of the season he will hang up his bike.
The climb to Portella Mandrazzi halfway along the route made it surprisingly exciting. Mathieu Van der Poel and his team decided not to make the finish line in Messina easy prey for the sprinters. From the first kilometres of the long climb, he ordered his teammates to keep up the pace and see what happened.
Within a few minutes the fish started to fall into the net; the first athlete to give in was Caleb Ewan, still battered after his fall on the first stage in Visegrad, followed by Mark Cavendish, the two star sprinters of this Giro d’Italia. The rider from the Isle of Man was immediately escorted and protected by five teammates, but the Australian was left alone for more than a few kilometres. When Lotto Soudal realized their sprinter was in danger of finishing out of time, they ordered 4-5 riders to escort him to Messina.
With Cavendish and Ewan out of the equation, Alpecin-Fenix’s pace almost claimed a third victim, Arnaud Démare. Compared to the two aforementioned riders, he was able to grit his teeth longer and, despite dropping off on the climb, caught up with the peloton after a 20K+ chase. The Frenchman gained confidence, was guided to perfection in the twisty finale and delivered one of his familiar Giro accelerations.
Stage 5 results
1.Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) 4:03:56
2.Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates) s.t
3.Giacomo Nizzolo (Israel-Premier Tech) s.t
General Classification after stage 5
1.Juan Pedro Lopez (Trek-Segafredo) 18:21:03
2.Lennard Kamna (Bora-Hansgrohe) +39’’
3.Rein Taaramae (Wanty-Intermarche) +48’’
For Démare, this is his sixth victory on the roads of the Giro d’Italia after four wins in 2019-2020, but his first of this season. He joins Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault in the highest number of French stage wins at the Giro. Not a bad company indeed. And tomorrow he can aim for the overall record.
