Giro d'Italia 2018: Stage 5

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January 1 - May 27, Agrigento, Italy, Road - GT

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Welcome to our full live coverage of stage 5 of the Giro d'Italia, another rolling day with a punchy finale. 

 

Hello there and welcome back to the Cyclingnews live race centre for more from the Giro d'Italia. It's stage 5 today, and the second of three stages on the island of Sicily.

The riders and teams have all arrived in Agrigento and the last of them are signing on for the stage. The race gets underway at 13.30 local time. 

Agrigento and its storied Valley of Temples have a long association with big-time cycling, having hosted the World Championships in 1994, as well as the Grande Partenza of the 1999 Giro. Santa Ninfa, on the other hand, makes its debut as a stage town, as the Giro visits the province of Trapani for the first time to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the devastating Valle del Belice earthquake of 1968, which killed 231 people.

Italian television are saying the start of this stage as been delayed by 10 minutes due to an accident out on the route. 

Before we get going, here's a reminder of the overall standings after four stages

And they're off. After a short delay, the riders have rolled out of Agrigento and are making their way through the neutralised section. Racing proper will be underway in around 10 minutes. 

Interestingly, Chris Froome was warming up ahead of today's stage, riding out along the course and then back again ahead of the start.

We're underway

And of course the attacks come quickly, with Ryan Mullen escaping with a rider each from Wilier and Androni. He has a Trek-Segafredo teammate chasing behind and is understandably keen to wait for him. 

Those four riders quickly open a gap and there's no response in the peloton. This looks like our break of the day. 

The four breakaway riders are:

The quartet have opened a lead of over two minutes already, and that is set to grow and grow. BMC have the responsibility of controlling the pace in the peloton, with the pink jersey on the shoulders of Rohan Dennis, but also those teams interested in the stage win will have to contribute, too. 

Our top story today doesn't concern the Giro, or at least not directly. Alberto Contador is a two-time winner of the corsa rosa and we have an exclusive interview with him. It's a special one, as Alasdair Fotheringham travelled to Pinto to visit Contador at home, the Spaniard having moved back to his hometown in retirement after living in Switzerland during his career. 

BMC are indeed on the front of the peloton, but Tom Dumoulin's Sunweb henchmen are massed right behind. The 2017 champion is second overall, a solitary second off Dennis' lead. 

No rest for the wicked. Jempy Drucker, who did a lot of work yesterday, is the rider BMC have sent to the front of the peloton here. Behind him are three from Sunweb, five from Sky, and then Mitchelton-Scott and UAE. 

UAE, of course, really took on yesterday's stage, causing splits in the peloton before sending Valerio Conti away in the finale. In the end, though, Diego Ulissi was nowhere to be seen on a finale that suited him on paper. Can he do something today? 

Away from the Giro again, and we also have a story on Nacer Bouhanni today. The Frenchman has had a poor start to the season that has sparked altercations between him and the Cofidis staff. Bouhanni is currently at the 4 Jours de Dunkerque, seeking his first win of 2018.

123km remaining from 153km

Lotto Soudal have put a rider on the front of the peloton and the gap has fallen to 5 minutes. 

Lotto FIX ALL, sorry (the Belgian team have changed their name for the Giro). I need to write that out 100 times. I'll have the hang of it by the end of the three weeks...

We're now in Grand Tour season, but don't let the spring classics drift too far to the back of your memory. They're the subject of our first ever film, 'The Holy Week'.

114km remaining from 153km

Here's a first shot of our breakaway quartet

106km remaining from 153km

Today is the seventh anniversary of the death of Wouter Weylandt. The Belgian tragically died on stage 3 of the 2011 Giro after crashing on the descent of the Passo del Bocco near Genoa. 

100km remaining from 153km

A reminder of the stage profile. We're still on those gently undulating but relatively easy roads, but things will start to get a bit trickier once through the feed zone (that's the red 'R') in about 20km time. 

87km remaining from 153km

Unlike Chris Froome, Tom Dumoulin was solid yesterday, finishing with most of the GC contenders. However, the Dutchman didn't see it so much as another potentially complicated day down, but more an opportunity lost. Here's his reaction. 

We're two hours into stage 5 and only 70km have been covered. That, it doesn't take a calculator to work out, is an average speed of 35km/h, which is some way below the lowest predicted speed on the timetable. 

It looks like Froome has had a mechanical problem. He's back in the cars with two teammates. No stress for the Sky rider at this point. 

Irish champion Mullen has been the main workhorse in this breakaway. The 23-year-old is a time trial specialist but finished a disappointing 62nd in the opening-day time trial in Jerusalem. Trek were keen on this break, putting two riders in there, but they haven't been allowed much leeway from the powers that be in the peloton. 

Lotto Fix All are massed on the front of the peloton with pretty much a full team. But here come Sky down the middle, led by Salvatore Puccio, and that's because we're passing by his hometown of Menfi. Puccio's name is printed on banners and chalked onto the tarmac as the tifosi pay tribute. 

Feed zone

Here's Mullen in his rightful place on the front of the break

Guy Niv has abandoned the race

Niv is the second rider to abandon this Giro after Bardiani-CSF sprinter Andrea Guardini pulled out through illness yesterday. The race is now three riders light, with Kanstantsin Siutsou failing to start after crashing in his recon of the stage 1 time trial.

65km remaining from 153km

Mullen takes maximum points at the top of the climb, but only by virtue of being on the front as they crossed the line. There was no contest for the points. 

The climb is shortly followed by the first of two intermediate sprints. It's marginally more keenly contested than the KOM, but not fiercely so. Vendrame takes maximum points ahead of Zhupa. 

As the peloton approaches the sprint, we get a first sighting of Elia Viviani, winner of two stages so far and wearer of the maglia ciclamino. The Italian makes a relaxed dart forward to make sure he mops up what's left and extend his lead in the points classification. 

The riders are now heading down what looks like a highly enjoyable gentle descent. After around 8km, they'll be heading uphill again on the second climb of the day, this time a longer but steadier drag to Partanna. 

Weirdly, here are FDJ at the front of the peloton, leading them down this descent. Thibaut Pinot, of course, is their leader for the general classification. 

50km remaining from 153km

These first two days in Sicily seemed, on paper, to represent a real headache for whoever was defending the maglia rosa. No such issues for Rohan Dennis and BMC, however - not so far, anyway. After keeping the break at hand yesterday and guiding Dennis safely into the final kilometre, the boys in black and red have enjoyed a relaxed day so far, as other teams - mostly Lotto Fix All - have taken responsibility and made sure no danger came of this relatively unthreatening four-rider break. 

Speaking of Dennis, he'd love to hold pink all the way to Rome, but his 'Grand Tour project' is a long-term vision, and at the very least he wants to treat this as a learning experience. Here's what he had to say after yesterday's stage, his first successful defence of a Grand Tour leader's jersey. 

The riders are climbing again, up to Partanna. It's a 9.2km climb at an average of 3.7 per cent. 

A slight increase in the third hour of racing, with the average speed creeping up to 36km/h. 

More Sicilian scenery

41km remaining from 153km

The peloton crest the climb 2:08 in arrears. Dennis was up towards the front there, just taking care through the narrow streets. Danger had been signalled when AG2R's Francois Bidard came down on one of the tight bends. 

37km remaining from 153km

Steve Morabito and Laurens Ten Dam, domestiques for Pinot and Dumoulin respectively, slip out on one of the corners. They're both ok and up and carrying on. 

That crash and the increase in pace has caused a split in the peloton. Nothing major for now but the race is coming to life now. 

30km remaining from 153km

Meanwhile the four breakaway riders - Mullen, Didier, Zhupa, Vendrame - have seen their advantage creep back up. 2:15 is the latest gap. 

Predictions please

25km remaining from 153km

Attack!

No attempt from Viviani for the one remaining bonus second this time at the intermediate sprint. Lotto Fix All lead the bunch as the gap comes down to 1:50. 

Vendrame and Zhupa succeed in making it across to Didier. Mullen, though, quite understandably, is done for the day. 

I take that back. Mullen has come back into it as the pace drops at the front. The Irishman, it seems, has more to give. 

Attack from Vendrame now. Zhupa leads the pursuit with Didier on the wheel. Mullen is dropped once more. 

We're now in Grand Tour season, but don't let the spring classics drift too far to the back of your memory. They're the subject of our first ever film, 'The Holy Week'.

The attacks in the break will inject some pace but the breakdown in collaboration will only hurt their collective effort. The gap has fallen to 1:30, which is manageable for the peloton with just over 20km to go. 

Vendrame is still out on his own and he hits the top of the Poggioreale climb with 20km to go. 

Team Sky take it up now, taking over from Lotto. It's Vasil Kiryienka on the front for the British squad as Mullen is swept up. 

Vendrame has his arms folded over his bars as he enjoys this short descent, but the road will soon be rising again. A reminder of the stage profile. We're nearly into the final 15km. 

Lotto Fix All re-establish themselves on the nose of the peloton. One minute is the gap to Vendrame. 

A Sunweb rider, possibly Ten Dam, launches a bidon at the Shimano neutral service car. Not quite sure what the driver had done to annoy him. 

The game is up for Didier and Zhupa after 140km off the front. They're caught by the peloton with 15km to go. 

A solid effort here from Vendrame. While his companions have all been swallowed up, he's still one minute clear out front. 

Crash!

Max Schachmann is held up for a second day in a row but is up and running again. Jan Hirt and riders from Movistar and AG2R are still down. 

The crash happened on a bend about half-way down the peloton. Most of the GC riders will have been positioned up towards the front and therefore out of trouble. Any disruption in the peloton will only favour Vendrame. 

Pozzovivo off the back!

Bahrain succeed in dragging Pozzovivo back to the peloton. Panic over. 

11km remaining from 153km

Jarlinson Pantano and Elia Viviani are two more riders caught up in that crash who won't be playing any part in this finale. 

10km remaining from 153km

The road is tipping down once more and this is where Vendrame can stem the tide. 

Mitchelton-Scott have taken it up now on the front of the peloton. 

We're coming towards the final 5km, and here's what they look like

Problem for Miguel Angel Lopez!

4km remaining from 153km

Where are Lopez's teammates? He's in the wind chasing alone here. 

Bahrain take it up now with 3km to go. The pace is really high here. 

Sky are also up there shepherding Froome. 

And now Astana drop two riders back for Lopez. It's Lutsenko and Luis Leon Sanchez. 

Lotto Soudal dominated the final few kilometres yesterday and here they are back on the front. 

2km remaining from 153km

Bak lifts the pace for Lotto

Pozzovivo is up there, as is Yates and Woods. Dennis is some way down. 

Mitchelton drilling it here. Froome in trouble again. 

It's coming back together now as the gradient eases. 

1km remaining from 153km

Pozzovivo tracks it

Ulissi swings over

Pozzovivo on the front, looking round

Aru comes through now. More looking round. 

Big right-hander here...

Attack from Visconti. Battaglin on the wheel

Battaglin comes round...

And Battaglin wins!

Enrico Battaglin (LottoNL-Jumbo) wins stage 5 of the Giro d'Italia

Here comes Lopez now, led by Sanchez. He loses 42 seconds. A huge blow, and the Giro goes from bad to worse for the Colombian. 

Battaglin, a winner of stages in the Giro in 2013 and 2014, seems back to his best. He showed his form yesterday and delivered today in convincing fashion. 

Top 10

Visconti tried to get the jump and led through the final bend, but Battaglin was already onto him, and after a short spell in the slipstream, the Italian came round and made it look easy in the end. Some bike lengths behind, Goncalves and Schachmann were engaged in a battle with third place, the former nicking it on the line after an unnecessary glance over the shoulder from the German. 

Dennis finished safely up there to last another day in pink. 

General classification after stage 5

Let's hear from our stage winner

We await reaction from Lopez. The Colombian crashed in his recon of the stage 1 time trial and produced a disappointing display, and this latest crash leaves him almost two minutes down after five stages. 

@giroditalia: Bravo Enrico! #Giro101 https://t.co/jlUHkiu5NN

Here's our report page

Here's a brief word from race leader Rohan Dennis. 

Here's runner-up and local lad Visconti

Full results and plenty of photos can now be found in our report page

This is what lies ahead tomorrow. The small matter of Mount Etna...

Here's our collection of snap reactions from the protagonists on stage 5

 

 

That's it for our live coverage today. Thanks for joining us, and stay tuned to Cyclingnews.com over the coming hours for all the stories and reaction from the race. We'll see you back here tomorrow for live coverage of stage 6 and the first summit finish of this 2018 Giro d'Italia. Ciao. 

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