Giro d’Italia | Three things that stood out in the 5th stage – Lennard Kämna is not just chasing points and breakdowns with consequences

The 174 kilometers of the 5th Giro stage were the first appearance of the protagonists of the previous day in their freshly conquered jerseys:

Lennard Kämna in the blue mountain jersey of the Spaniard Pedro Lopez as the new wearer of the maglia rosa proudly showed off the Tifosi and was able to enjoy the day: their lead was safe.

The section for two big sprint stars, who were actually traded as favorites for the final in Messina, went very differently.

Tour of Italy

Giro preview, stage 6: is the wind messing up the field?

14 HOURS AGO

In their place, Frenchman Arnaud Démare was able to take his first and long-awaited victory of the season.

Three things that stood out about Stage 5 of the Giro:

1. Kämna doesn’t just chase points

Despite a very comfortable lead in the mountains classification, the victor from Mount Etna did not rest on his comfortable position. On the contrary, on the only climb of the day, he sprinted by the last point behind the five-man breakaway that was leading at the time.

But that’s not all: The 25-year-old was also able to position himself in the intermediate sprint 37 kilometers from the finish line. Even if he wasn’t able to conquer any of the time bonuses there in the end: The sign was clear – he also has the pink jersey more than just in the back of his mind, only 39 seconds behind Lopez. The difficult stages from Friday give him the best chance of conquering it.

In the interview, Kämna was already stacked low with a view to the mountain jersey, but the competition should not be lulled into security: “It remains to be seen whether I will wear the jersey. I look from day to day, but of course I want it that way wear it as long as possible.”

Does Bora dance at too many weddings? That’s what the Eurosport experts say

2. Untimely breakdown slows Ewan down

For the majority of the international group of experts from Eurosport, the Australian was the big favorite of the stage – precisely because the 20-kilometer climb in category 2 was considered (too) high a hurdle for Mark Cavendish. The ex-world champion then fell victim to Team Alpecin’s speed dictate, but Ewan suddenly found himself behind and in an unwanted chase.

On the first stage, Ewan was still very confidently chasing the climb in the final up to his fall in the last meters. But on Wednesday, misfortune robbed him of all chances:

“At the foot of the Portella Mandrazzi, I had to change my bike. It was the worst possible moment. The team did what they could to bring me back, but it was impossible against all the other teams,” said the five-time Giro stage winner hopes for a new chance on the 6th stage.

Almost like the 2021 Tour: Ewan crashes in the sprint for victory

3. Démares “much needed victory”

Even without Cavendish and Ewan, the fans in Messina saw an outstanding sprint that Arnaud Démare after a for Eurosport expert Bernie Eisel “perfect team effort” won comfortably. A salvation for the Frenchman and his racing team – because so far Groupama has only had two measly wins this season.

“My victory shows that you can never give up in cycling,” said the former winner of Milan – Sanremo, who also fell behind in the climb of the day.

His driver, Ramon Sinkeldam, summed up the roller coaster ride of this stage emotionally at the finish: “The victory was sorely needed. I train like a madman all year round to show a performance like today. We didn’t have that much up there (on the mountain). I got goosebumps when there were six or seven of us chasing the field. We weren’t really well positioned in the sprint. Still, it went perfectly in the end. I was in the wind for a long time and so was Arnaud – but he just wasn’t today to stop”.

Now the knot has burst at Démare, who also took the lead in the points classification and could perhaps defend it to the finish in Verona – as he did at the Giro 2020.

You might also be interested in: Giro 2022: All 21 stages with elevation profiles at a glance

Eisel explains: This is how Bora brought Kämna back on the winning track

Tour of Italy

Does Bora dance at too many weddings? That’s what the Eurosport experts say

14 HOURS AGO

Tour of Italy

Defense of the mountain jersey? This is Kämna’s plan

14 HOURS AGO

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.