The 5th stage of the Giro d'Italia 2023 was overshadowed by numerous crashes. Top favourite Remco Evenepoel (Sodual - Quick Step) crashed twice on the wet road, but was able to continue the race both times. In the final metres of the sprint for the stage win, there was a heavy crash involving Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan Team).
Groves wins stage 5
The day's winner was Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) ahead of Jonathan Milan (Bahrain-Victorious) and Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo). "I crashed seven kilometres before the finish, but was able to come back. The team delivered me to the front very early on. I docked with DSM and luckily it was enough for the win. I would like to thank my team for believing in me," said the winner Groves at the finish.
The top 10 of stage 5
- Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 4:30:19
- Jonathan Milan (Bahrain-Victorious) +0:00
- Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) +0:00
- Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan Team) +0:00
- Nicolas Dalla Valle (Team Corratec - Selle Italia) +0:00
- Mirco Maestri (Eolo-Kometa) +0:00
- Filippo Fiorelli (Green Project -Bardiani CSF - Faizane) +0:00
- Andrea Vendrame (AG2R-Citroën Team) +0:00
- Michael Matthews (Team Jayco-AlUla) +0:00
- Niccolo Bonifazio (Intermarche-Circus-Wanty) +0:00
In the overall standings, Andreas Leknessund (Team DSM) defended the overall leader's pink jersey, which he had taken over from Evenepoel the day before.
How the 5th stage went
The stage was characterised by bad weather. It rained almost all day on the 171 kilometres between Atripalda and Salerno. Four riders initially broke away from the peloton: Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), Thomas Champion (Cofidis), Samuele Zoccarato (Green Project -Bardiani CSF - Faizane) and Stefano Gandin (Team Corratec - Selle Italia). Pinot dropped back into the peloton after the first mountain classification, which he won.
Then came the first excitement. A dog ran into the peloton, a rider from Soudal - Quick Step touched the brakes on a slippery road and caused a crash that also involved Remco Evenepoel. The road world champion had to recover briefly at the side of the road, then continued his ride and caught up with the peloton again.
In the finale of stage 5 of the Giro d'Italia 2023, Zoccarato initially outsprinted his two fellow breakaway riders Champion and Gandin, but was alone against the sprinters. The Italian was caught six kilometres from the finish, shortly after a mass crash at the front of the peloton had torn the field apart.
Crashes by Evenepoel and Cavendish on stage 5
Around three kilometres before the finish, the first and second groups joined up again. Shortly afterwards, Evenepoel was on the road again. This time, the Belgian had got stuck on the rear wheel of another rider.
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In the end, a small group of around 20 riders sprinted for the stage win. With 200 metres to go, Groves took the sprint and could no longer be overtaken. Mark Cavendish, who was also battling for the stage win, slipped on a white lane marking in the final sprint, recovered, then touched the rear wheel of Alberto Dainese and crashed. The Brit crossed the finish line in fifth place and took several riders with him in his crash.
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After the stage, the race jury decided to demote Dainese, who originally finished fourth, after the incident with Cavendish in the final sprint.
