Two Soudal Quick-Step riders in the top ten on Wednesday’s 203km stage.
The fifth day of the Corsa Rosa is one the riders won’t be forgetting anytime soon. The pouring rain, the low temperatures, the sketchy roads, the many meters of climbing – all these made for a draining day in the saddle, one which the peloton covered in more than five hours.
After a tough opening 50 kilometers in Basilicata, which welcomed the Corsa Rosa for the 33th time in history, a breakaway formed. Gianmarco Garofoli was part of that five-man group that soon ended up numbering a dozen riders after some attackers from the peloton managed to bridge across. For a brief moment, the sun pierced the clouds, but soon rain was back and forced the peloton to slow down, which helped the escapees increase their advantage.
With 45 kilometers to go, on the slopes of Montagna Grande di Viggiano, Andrea Raccagni decided to make a move from the bunch together with a handful of riders, setting out in pursuit of the original breakaway, which in the meantime had fragmented leaving only two leaders. On the twisting roads to Potenza, returning as a stage finish after many years of absence, Garofoli continued to push a strong tempo en route to sixth place for his fifth top-ten of the season.
It was an incredibly hard stage and very cold the whole time.
“I gave my best from the start until the finish, and I can look back with satisfaction knowing I left everything out there. The Giro has just started and I’m confident there will be more opportunities for me in the next stages”, Gianmarco said before entering the team bus.
Andrea Raccagni finished a few minutes later, in ninth place, and made a spectacular jump on the general classification, where he now sits just outside the podium, separated from the top three only by a handful of seconds: “A tough day on the bike, one of the hardest of my career. I wasn’t that confident in my chances, but then realised I was feeling good when we took on that steep climb and attacked. I could put in a strong effort and take my second top ten in a row, which is encouraging for the coming stages.”
The points classification jersey remained on the shoulders of Paul Magnier, who’ll have a good opportunity to cement his lead there on the stage finishing in Naples.
Ayco Bastiaens was involved in a crash, but managed to conclude the stage. He will be assessed by our medical team on Thursday morning.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
