Italian Diego Ulissi gave his Lampre-Merida team their first win of the day on stage five of the Giro d'Italia. Second place went to Cadel Evans (BMC) ahead of Julien Arredondo (Trek).
More than 200 kilometers had to be covered from Taranto to the finish line in Viggiano. again the rain showed up as a companion for the drivers. A breakaway group, in which two Germans, Björn Thurau (Europcar) and Fabian Wegmann (Garmin-Sharp), were also represented, was unimpressed.
The group worked well together at first. However, the field, led by Orica-GreenEdge and overall leader Michael Matthews, kept the group on a short leash. The lead grew little more than four minutes.
Over the last thirty kilometers the lead dwindled rapidly. The 25-year-old Thurau proved to be an asset at the top. He caused the group to split several times and was finally caught a few kilometers from the finish as the last remaining escapee.
On the descent to the final climb, which had to be mastered twice, the wet road surface led to several falls. The advance of Giorgio Brambilla (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), who took a lead of about half a minute into the climb, was all the more surprising. There, however, Dani Moreno (Katusha) followed him. In his tow was Arredondo alongside his captain Joaquin Rodriguez. However, both didn't have the legs that Ulissi and Evans proved. Both started late, with the Italian clearly ending better.
Matthews also drove a spirited race and finished sixth. This place was enough for him Pink sweater To defend.
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