Igor Arrieta (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) somehow won stage five of the Giro d'Italia despite crashing and then later going off route in the finale. His stage rival Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain Victorious) had also previously crashed on the slippery roads to Potenza. Both looked like broken riders in the slow-motion sprint to the line, but Arrieta was rewarded for his doggedness with the stage, and Eulálio the pink jersey for his efforts.
The stage started in some torrential weather on the early Prestieri climb and despite the occasional respite, the rain didn't really let up all day.
Arrieta and Eulálio had been part of the day's main break which contained the former pink jersey wearer Guillermo Thomas Silva and his teammate Christian Scaroni (XDS Astana), Manuele Tarozzi (Bardiani CSF 7 Saber), Lorenzo Milesi, Einer Rubio (both Movistar), Ben Turner (Netcompany Ineos), Gianmarco Garofoli (Soudal Quick-Step), Victor Campenaerts (Visma | Lease a Bike), stage four winner Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates), Martin Tjøtta (Uno-X Mobility) and Darren Rafferty (EF Education-EasyPost).
The peloton gave up the chase in the final hour of racing and so Eulálio now has a handsome lead in the maglia rosa ahead of the main GC contenders.
Giro d'Italia 2026 stage five results
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More to come