Giro d'Italia 2025 - Stage 5: Pedersen also unbeatable in the uphill sprint
The hilly arrival of the 5th stage in Matera was too difficult for the pure sprinters. After 151 kilometres, Mads Pedersen (Lidl - Trek) took his third stage win in this Tour of Italy on the uphill finishing straight.
In a long and exhausting sprint, Pedersen ultimately relegated Edoardo Zambanini (Bahrain - Victorious) and Thomas Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) to the other places. In the undulating finale, Pedersen was already in trouble two kilometres before the uphill finish, but then came back to the front and was ideally prepared for the sprint in the final kilometre by Mathias Vacek. Nevertheless, Pedersen only managed to finish a few centimetres ahead of Zambanini.
"I wasn't sure at first whether it would be enough for the win. The last 20 kilometres were so hard - I suffered a lot on the last climb. But I knew that if I came over the crest with a small gap, then I would be in the group fighting for the stage win. But I used up a lot of energy to get back to Vacek's rear wheel. But it was still enough," said Pedersen in the winner's interview.
Wout Van Aert hung up in the final
The last 50 kilometres saw more movement in the race due to the undulating landscape in Apulia. Due to the only mountain classification of the day in Montescaglioso (4th category), most of the sprinters were already distanced 30 kilometres before the finish. Shortly before the finale, Wout Van Aert (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) also lost touch.
There were no changes at the top of the overall standings. Pedersen remains in the pink jersey and extends his lead thanks to the ten-second time bonus for the stage win. Primoz Roglic (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) follows in second place with 17 seconds.
Giro d'Italia 2025 - Results of the 5th stage
Stage 5: Ceglie Messapica - Matera
Giro d'Italia 2025: Stage 5, Ceglie Messapica - Matera
| Rnk. | Riders | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lidl - Trek | 03:27:31 |
| 2 | Bahrain - Victorious | +00:00:00 |
| 3 | Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | +00:00:00 |
| 4 | Movistar Team | +00:00:00 |
| 5 | VF Group - Bardiani CSF - Faizanè | +00:00:00 |
| 6 | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | +00:00:00 |
How the 5th stage of the Giro d'Italia 2025 went
There was no large breakaway group on this stage. At the start in Ceglie Messapica, the leading trio of Davide Bais (Team PoltiVisitMalta), Giosuè Epis (Arkéa - B&B Hotels) and Lorenzo Milesi (Team Movistar) were the first to attack. In the peloton, Lidl-Trek set the pace for long stretches and gave the breakaway a maximum lead of three minutes.
Epis in particular collected points and prize money in the day's special classifications, winning the intermediate sprints in Massafra and Marina di Ginosa as well as the so-called "Red Bull kilometre" in Bernalda after 100 kilometres. Two thirds of the stages took place without any topographical difficulties, mainly on motorway sections.
Mountain classification eliminates most sprinters
The terrain only changed in the last 50 kilometres through the hilly landscape of Apulia. Epis, among others, dropped out of the leading group 43 kilometres before the finish, while Bais and Milesi initially defended a lead of two minutes. Milesi secured the only mountain classification of the day in Montescaglioso (4th category) 30 kilometres before the finish. Due to an increase in speed by UAE Team Emirates - XRG, some sprinters such as Milan Frentin (Cofidis), Kaden Groves (Alpecin - Deceuninck), Casper van Uden (Team Picnic PostNL), Max Kanter (XDS Astana Team) and Olav Kooij (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) had already dropped back there.
The terrain remained hilly afterwards, but no team forced the pace at first. 13 kilometres before the end, the escape of Bais and Milesi was over. However, UAE Team Emirates - XRG remained the driving force in the finale. Nevertheless, several larger groups ultimately decided the sprint for victory among themselves - once again with Pedersen as the winner.
