Giro D'Italia 2015: Stage 5 Results, Overall Standings and Highlights
Jan Polanc broke away in the latter stages to take Stage 5 of the Giro d’Italia by a comfortable margin. The Slovenian was too good on the first summit climax of the 2015 Grand Tour, finishing in front of Sylvain Chavanel and Fabio Aru, second and third, respectively, after making an early breakaway.
It was a fine day for Alberto Contador, too, as he rode himself into the pink jersey with a strong finish. The Spaniard placed fourth in the stage after a gripping late tussle with Richie Porte and Aru, who remain his main challengers for overall glory.
Here are the stage results:
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| 1 | Jan Polanc (Slo) | Lampre-Merida | 4:09:18 |
| 2 | Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) | IAM Cycling | 0:01:31 |
| 3 | Fabio Aru (Ita) | Astana Pro Team | Same Time |
| 4 | Alberto Contador (Spa) | Tinkoff-Saxo | Same Time |
| 5 | Richie Porte (Aus) | Team Sky | Same Time |
| 6 | Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) | Astana Pro Team | 0:01:44 |
| 7 | Dario Cataldo (Ita) | Astana Pro Team | 0:01:53 |
| 8 | Yury Trofimov (Rus) | Team Katusha | Same Time |
| 9 | Damiano Caruso (Ita) | BMC Racing Team | Same Time |
| 10 | Darwin Atapuma Hurtado (Col) | BMC Racing Team | Same Time |
As we can see here courtesy of British Eurosport, Contador being in front is an ominous sign for the rest of the riders in situ:
"Alberto Contador takes the maglia rosa. He has NEVER lost the leader's jersey at a grand tour #giro #homeofcycling pic.twitter.com/2fxqISQxYt
— British Eurosport (@EurosportUKTV) May 13, 2015"
In terms of inclined finishes, this won’t be the most testing of the tour. But the riders involved would have been intrigued to have gauged the fitness of their competitors for this coveted title.
Ahead of the stage, the Team Sky Twitter feed gave us a look at the stage between La Spezia and Abetone:
As has been the case throughout the early days of this tour, the peloton allowed an early breakaway group to form. But as the final incline edged ever closer, some of the main contenders for this title gradually edged themselves into position for a late surge. None of those involved were a match for Polanc, though.
The 23-year-old was in an initial breakaway group ahead of an earlier, less substantial climb, but with 10 kilometres remaining, he made a decisive move. It proved to be enough for the Slovenian, as for the second day in succession, a rider making an early surge managed to hold on for victory.
As noted by Infostrada Sports, the youngster is just the second-ever stage winner from his country:
With Polanc relatively comfortable in first, all eyes were on the chasers. Chavanel was pretty safe in second after trying to stay with the eventual victor for a while, but a substantial chasing pack contained some stellar names. When Contador made a break with five kilometres remaining, that quickly whittled down.
Alongside the iconic Spaniard were Porte, Aru and Mikel Landa. As noted here, Team Sky’s Porte did well to cling on after Contador’s injection of pace:
Coming into the final metres of this stage, these men really strove to get over the line first with time bonuses applicable, and such was the electric pace they showcased in the latter stages, they came extremely close to catching Chavanel.
The Frenchman was able to cling on in second, however, while Aru got a little more of a kick in the final stages, with teammate Landa playing a fine supporting role. However, Contador did enough to ensure he’ll be wearing the magila rosa this evening, as he was just a wheel behind the Italian star in fourth.
Former Giro rider David Millar paid tribute to fortitude showcased by the Spaniard:
Here’s a look at the general classification:
| 1 | Alberto Contador (Spa) | Tinkoff-Saxo | 16:05:54 |
| 2 | Fabio Aru (Ita) | Astana Pro Team | 0:00:02 |
| 3 | Richie Porte (Aus) | Team Sky | 0:00:20 |
| 4 | Roman Kreuziger (Cze) | Tinkoff-Saxo | 0:00:22 |
| 5 | Dario Cataldo (Ita) | Astana Pro Team | 0:00:28 |
| 6 | Esteban Chaves (Col) Orica GreenEdge | Orica GreenEdge | 0:00:37 |
| 7 | Giovanni Visconti (Ita) | Movistar Team | 0:00:56 |
| 8 | Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) | Astana Pro Team | 0:01:01 |
| 9 | Davide Formolo (Ita) | Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | 0:01:15 |
| 10 | Andrey Amador (CRc) | Movistar Team | 0:01:18 |
The delight on Polanc’s face was evident as he crossed the line in first place. It took a lot of heart from him to push to the front of the pack on the first summit finish of this tour and to have emerged as victor by such a comfortable margin will give him immense satisfaction to accompany the thrill of his first stage win in a grand tour.
Polanc won’t be featuring in the overall race for glory in this year’s Giro, but the race for the pink jersey is really beginning to hot up. Contador naturally remains the big favourite, and it’s going to be very difficult for any riders to wrestle the lead from him.
There were signs during Stage 5 that there are some potential challengers to the Spaniard’s crown, however. Indeed, this Giro has churned out plenty of surprises already in the infancy of the competition, and with some punishing stages to come, expect even more thrills as the world’s finest riders battle it out for this prestigious tour title.
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