Marked as a one-star stage by the organisers, the fifth stage of the Giro d'Italia Women turned out to be anything but. The stage was the flattest of the eight days, and with only two stages for the sprinters, it was assumed that SD Worx-Protime, Visma-Lease a Bike, and other teams with strong sprinters would keep any breakaway on a leash. But when UAE Team ADQ decided to pin it into the gutter and take the race into their own hands, that one star started to look like some sort of joke, especially to AG Insurance-Soudal and podium hopeful Sarah Gigante..
By the end of the 120 km stage, SD Worx's Anna van der Breggen, who lost time on the fourth stage, had moved into third overall and stage 4 winner Gigante had dropped from third to fifth. Movistar's Marlen Reusser held onto her lead, with UAE's Elisa Longo Borghini close behind. More importantly, the two increased their buffer over Gigante, who demonstrated superior climbing ability a day before.
Abby Mickey
It was Longo Borghini's team who really initiated the attack. With 52 km to go, her team went to the front, and along with Van der Breggen's SD Worx team, challenged the stage outcome of the "sprint" stage.
"I was afraid, a bit, of this stage because it was expected to be a bunch sprint," Reusser said at the finish. "It was a very technical final with narrow roads, a lot of corners, it's not what I like to do in life."
"That we were in that small group, could do a big team time trial, in a good way, everyone was working nicely together. It was super cool."
Reusser had only one teammate with her in the move, Liane Lippert, who ended up sprinting for third on the day, but it was enough. UAE and SD Worx were more than happy to put in the work to extend their advantage over the peloton behind. For UAE, it was a long game, with the overall in mind. For SD Worx, the motivation was stage honours, as Lorena Wiebes unsurprisingly won her second stage out of a group of just 12 riders, but there was also the opportunity to move Van der Breggen up in the standings.
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