Pascal Ackermann celebrates on rainy day at Giro d'Italia
May 15 2019 11:38 pm CET
Photo of Pascal Ackermann ©Bora-hansgrohe / VeloImages
Bora-hansgrohe's Pascal Ackermann has won the fifth stage of the Giro d'Italia. The German national champion crossed the wet finish line ahead of Fernando Gaviria.
The fifth day of competition in Italy started with the news of Tom Dumoulin's abandon due to the injuries he suffered in a crash of the day before. The rest of the peloton faced a 140-kilometre stage that was bound to finish in a bunch sprint despite the cold and the rainy conditions.
The breakaway of the day was formed by five riders and included names like Louis Vervaeke, Enrico Barbin and Umberto Orsini. This group created a gap of a bit more than two minutes with the pack and with 53 kilometres to go, Vervaeke attacked and continued by himself.
At around 20 kilometres to go, the Belgian rider was caught and the peloton continued at a calm pace to avoid any trouble. The jury of the race, by petition of the riders, decided that the stage was to be neutralised for the General Classification with one lap to go on the final circuit, so all the favourites stayed behind to avoid any accidents caused by the rain and let the fast men fight for their chances.
Teams like Bora-hansgrohe, Groupama-FDJ and Deceuninck-Quick-Step formed the sprint trains under the rain to position their fast men for the final kilometre. The first rider to launch the sprint was UAE-Team Emirates' Fernando Gaviria but almost at the same time Pascal Ackermann (Bora-hansgrohe) launched his and he could surpass the Colombian at the last metre, extending his time in the Maglia Ciclamino of the points classification.
Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ), Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal) and Matteo Moschetti (Trek-Segafredo) completed the top five of the day. Jumbo-Visma's Primoz Roglic remains in the lead of the General Classification of the Corsa Rosa.
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