One day after his coup on Mount Etna, Lennard Kämna easily defended his mountain jersey and second place in the overall standings of the 105th Giro d'Italia.
After Frenchman Arnaud Démare won the stage in a bunch sprint, the German cycling hopeful reached the finish with the peloton. The overall winner's pink jersey continues to be worn by Spaniard Juan Pedro Lopez, who together with Kämna had arrived on the volcano as a breakaway the day before.
"I really felt my legs from yesterday, especially when I was accelerating I was at the limit. That's why I was really happy that it wasn't too hard," said Kämna.
After the climb up Mount Etna, it was back to the sprinters on the fifth stage over 174 kilometres from Catania to Messina, the home town of former Giro winner Vincenzo Nibali. Démare celebrated his sixth stage win overall in the Tour of Italy. He was followed by the Colombian Fernando Gaviria and Giacomo Nizzolo from Italy. German sprinter Phil Bauhaus took a good sixth place.
The Giro continues on Thursday with the sixth stage over 192 kilometres from Palmi to Scalea. Apart from a fourth category climb, there are no major ascents to contend with. This means that Kämna will definitely keep his blue jersey until Friday. "There are still plenty of opportunities over the next few weeks. I'll take it day by day. Maybe I'll go for the jersey, maybe not," said Kämna. The Giro ends on 29 May in Verona.
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