Igor Arrieta had every reason to think Stage 5 of the Giro d’Italia had gone from his grasp.
He crashed on a wet descent with 14km to go. He needed a bike change. Then, inside the final two kilometres, he took the wrong side of a road split and briefly rode into a taped-off part of the course.
Still, the 23-year-old Spaniard found a way back.
Arrieta recovered from both incidents to win in Potenza and give UAE Team Emirates-XRG a second straight stage victory at this year’s Giro. It was also his first win at World Tour level.
The 203km stage from Praia a Mare to Potenza was raced in heavy rain and cold conditions. The early category 2 climb of Prestieri helped split the race, with attacks coming for more than 40km before a 13-rider breakaway formed.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG had two riders in the move, with Arrieta joined by Stage 4 winner Jhonatan Narváez. The break also included Afonso Eulálio, Einer Rubio and Thomas Silva, which forced Lidl-Trek to work behind in defence of Giulio Ciccone’s pink jersey.
Arrieta made his move with 62km remaining, attacking alone on the approach to the final classified climb. Eulálio bridged across 11km later, setting up a two-man fight for the stage and the overall race lead.
“I was completely empty in the last kilometres but I knew Eulálio was also suffering.”
By the final 15km, the pair had almost seven minutes on the peloton. Eulálio was effectively in the virtual maglia rosa, but the stage win remained open.
Then came the chaos.
Arrieta went down on a slippery downhill corner with 14km left. He changed bikes and chased back. Eulálio then crashed inside the final 7km, allowing the two riders to regroup.
The final twist came near the finish, when Arrieta took the wrong side of a split in the road. For a moment, it looked as though the stage had gone.
He chased again, reached Eulálio’s wheel, then passed him in the final few hundred metres on the uphill finish.
Arrieta won in 5 hours, 7 minutes and 51 seconds. Eulálio finished second, two seconds back, while Thomas Silva took third at 51 seconds.
Eulálio moved into the overall lead after the stage, with Arrieta second at 2 minutes and 51 seconds. Christian Scaroni sits third at 3 minutes and 34 seconds.
Elsewhere, UAE Team Emirates-XRG also started the Tour de Hongrie strongly, with Sebastián Molano sprinting to second on the opening stage between Gyula and Békéscsaba.
Tim Merlier won the stage for Soudal Quick-Step, with Molano second and Phil Bauhaus third.
