Lorena Wiebes sprinted to victory at the end of a flat stage five at the Giro d'Italia Women, but the day was not a regular bunch finish, with splits causing changes on GC.
The fifth stage of the Giro was supposed to be predictable. The flattest of the race, and the last before the serious GC days ahead. While Wiebes of SD Worx-Protime stormed to her 107th career victory, securing her second win of this Giro, and Marlen Reusser (Movistar) remained in pink, others lost out.
Once Wiebes launched her sprint, there was only one winner, with Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) in second, and Liane Lippert (Movistar) in third.
UAE Team ADQ took control of the race with 50km to go, splitting an already fragmented peloton riddled with small crashes. With the peloton split, and a huge gap of 1:41 ultimately separating the lead group from the peloton, white jersey Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) and yesterday's stage winner Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal) lost time.
The front group at the end had many of the favourites for the overall win, including Reusser, defending champion Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) and Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime), but numbered just 12.
Reusser will hold onto the pink jersey for stage six of the Giro, with Wiebes taking the points jersey from Henderson, while Niedermaier and Gigante hold onto the white and QOM jerseys respectively.
"The whole team did really good, as first we had the breakaway and we controlled it," Wiebes said after the race.
"And then with UAE, we put it in the gutter and the peloton broke. We had to finish it again, and the girls did amazing with the lead out. We can be really happy with today."
How it happened
The stretch of road between Mirano and Monselice in the Veneto plain is - almost entirely - flat. With no classified climbs, the 120km-long fifth stage of the Women's Giro d'Italia looked to be a stage for the sprinters.
An intermediate sprint soon into the race secured points for the early race-lead, Franziska Brauße (CERATIZIT Pro Cycling), but with 75km left to go, their lead didn't last long. SD Worx-Protime soon asserted their dominance, leading their two star sprinters - Lotte Kopecky and Lorena Wiebes - to the front of the peloton, along with UAE Team ADQ's Elisa Longo Borghini and Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike).
The first of a few crashes brought Marianne Vos down in the peloton, along with Fenix-Deceuninck rider Schrempf Carina and Vollotto Giulia (Mendelspeck E-Work). Though Vos didn't stay down for long, quickly rejoining the chase pack.
Just under half-way through the race was when it started to get especially interesting. With a gentle, but steady wind of 9km per hour, UAE Team ADQ pushed through the crosswind to the front of the peloton, stringing out the splintering group, with Borghini riding confidently out with her team of six in the front.
However, caught in the chase group was stage 4 winner Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal), along with Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto), teasing the general classification reshuffle to come.
At 30km to go, the break was confirmed, after riding as a group of 22 in chain gang formation until 40km. They headed into the looping final lap with SD Worx lining up to platform Wiebes for the finish. With 10 points up for grabs for the winner, 6 and 4 for second and third, the race - however flat - was still worth a fight.
Clocking up speeds of 56km per hour, the break headed around two successive bends, making the lead up to the finish line a technical negotiation between balance and speed. Kopecky neared the front, with Wiebes poised in third wheel, moving to the middle of the pack. Perfectly set up by her team, Wiebes stood out of the saddle for a clear, unrivalled win on the fifth stage of the Giro d'Italia Women, in confirmation of her sprinting prowess.
With a win for Wiebes, and the maglia rosa safe with Reusser, there were reshuffles in the general classification. Yesterday's winner, Gigante, moved down to fifth in the general classification, as previous pink jersey holder Anna Henderson disappeared from the top ten altogether.
"We were hoping to hold onto third in the GC, we weren’t expecting that split but my team worked so hard to minimise that time gap. Of course it isn’t what we wanted," Gigante said.
However, with temperatures expected to rise over stage 6's hilly climbs, Gigante is preparing to increase her overall standing.
"I'm from Australia, so the hotter the better," she said, looking ahead to tomorrow's race.
Results
Giro d'Italia Women 2025, stage 5: Mirano > Monselice (120km)
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime, 2:39:08
2. Marianne Vos (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, at same time
3. Liane Lippert (Ger) Movistar, at same time
4. Lotte Kopecky (Bel), SD Worx-Protime, at s.t.
5. Marlen Reusser (Swi) Movistar, at s.t.
6. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE Team ADQ, at s.t.
7. Anna van der Breggen (Ned) SD Worx-Protime, at s.t.
8. Franziska Brausse (Ger) CERATIZIT Pro Cycling, at s.t.
9. Katia Ragusa (Ita) Human Powered Health, at s.t.
10. Silvia Persico (Ita) UAE Team ADQ, at s.t.
General Classification after stage five
1. Marlen Reusser (Swi) Movistar, in 12:17:14
2. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE Team ADQ, +16s
3. Anna van der Breggen (Ned) SD Worx-Protime, +1:53
4. Katrine Aalerud (Nor) Uno-X Mobility, +2:07
5. Sarah Gigante (Aus) AG Insurance-Soudal, +2:16
6. Antonia Niedermaier (Ger) Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto, +2:45
7. Silvia Persico (Ita) UAE Team ADQ, 3:21
8. Pauliena Rooijakkers (Ned) Fenix-Deceuninck, +3:30
9. Yara Kastelijn (Ned) Fenix-Deceuninck, +3:36
10. Isabella Holmgren (Can) Lidl-Trek, +3:39
