The fifth stage of the Giro d’Italia, which stretched from Fascati to Terracina, offered a chance for the sprinters to come to the fore and Pascal Ackermann again succeeded in snatching victory.
The 140 km-long route contained two small ascents at the beginning, before it continued over relatively flat terrain and a category 4 climb into the finish town on the Tyrrhenian coast. The finale was contested on a 9.5m long circuit before the riders reached the 1.5km long flat finishing stretch in the harbour townlet. The weather was not kind to the riders as rain and wet roads demanded the utmost attention from the field on today’s stage.
At the end of the first half of the race, the jury decided that due to the inclement weather, times would be taken at the first passage of the finish line in Terracina. However, points and time bonuses would still be awarded at the stage finish. With 50 km, to go the breakaway split and a soloist escaped on the front until just over 20km to the finish when he was caught by the chasing peloton. BORA-hansgrohe moved up to the front with around 7 km remaining, to position Pascal Ackermann for the final sprint. But wet and slippery roads made the final finishing stretch dangerous to manoeuvre.
During the last two kilometres Michael Schwarzmann increased the tempo while other sprinter teams moved up to the front. When Gaviria launched his sprint, Ackermann followed his wheel and was able to overtake him on the line, netting his second stage victory at the Giro d’Italia. With that, he also extended his lead in the points classification. Ackermann’s teammate Rafal Majka remains in 6th position in the GC while BORA-hansgrohe also leads the team classification after today’s stage.
“I was lucky today because I could follow Gaviria’s wheel at high speed,” Ackermann said at the finish line. “I had to brake and then I was blocked slightly. I then just followed my lead out because I knew I could trust Rudi to position me well. He found a gap and so I could pass Gaviria on the finish line and take the victory. It was tough out there with the rain and cold and I am just happy to have won today.”
“I am really proud of the team, because everything went according to plan,” added Sports Director Christian Poemer. “The guys controlled the race. Pawel set the tempo and didn’t allow the escapees to gain too much of an advantage. We were able to protect our GC contenders, which was very important in the bad weather conditions. Michael and Rudi did a fantastic lead out for Pascal and brought him into a perfect position for the final sprint. We have good reason to celebrate today. The next two stages are for the climbers and I hope that the positive team spirit will motivate our climbers in the days to come.”
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