Giro d'Italia 2017: Fernando Gaviria Wins Stage 5 as Bob Jungels Maintains Lead

Quick-Step Floors rider Fernando Gaviria made a surge on the 2017 Giro d'Italia's upper order after storming to victory in Stage 5 of the competition in a time of three hours, 40 minutes and 11 seconds.  

Bob Jungels retains his pink maglia rosa (pink jersey) thanks to his Quick-Step team-mate's win and sits atop the general classification after Stage 5, with Team Sky's Geraint Thomas in second and fellow Briton Adam Yates in third.

Quick-Step were swift to congratulate Gaviria following his second stage victory of the 2017 Giro d'Italia, with Gaviria having also won Stage 3:

Stage 5 is split into two halves, including a hillier first part to get through after setting off from Pedara before approaching a much flatter approach into Messina, the birthplace of Vincenzo Nibali.

Cycling Hub provided a look at the top 10 finishers in Wednesday's race:

And here's how the general classification looks after five stages of this year's Italian blockbuster: 

Recap

The riders set off from Pedara and embarked along the hilly first portion of the course, where Gazprom-Rusvelo rider Evgeny Shalunov and Maciej Paterski of Team CCC Sprandi came out of the blocks fastest.

It wasn't long before the pair were four minutes ahead of the peloton after just 15 kilometres, although this would be a pace some may struggle to maintain over the course of an entire stage comprising any steep ascents.

It was to be expected that the teams of Quick-Step Floors, Orica-Scott and Lotto Soudal took control of the peloton early on considering they boast some of the Giro's best sprinters, such as Gaviria and Caleb Ewan.

Shalunov continued his assault from the front, however, and earned two points for his team after being first to overcome the summit of the category four Andronico Sant'Alfio. That being said, Paterski's team, CCC Sprandi, were all too aware of the closing threat:

The Quick-Step Floors team and leading star Jungels were neatly tucked into the peloton just as it passed over the Castiglione di Sicilia, the peak with the longest descent of Stage 5 as riders approached the halfway mark.

In the meantime, Giro favourite Nairo Quintana encountered a mechanical problem with his bike, swiftly resolving the issue before Movistar team-mate Jose Joaquin Rojas helped him rejoin the pack.

It was after making their way over the final climb of Taormina that the peloton up their stride in an attempt to shave down the breakaway's lead for the 60-kilometre test ahead, which was almost entirely flat.

As BMC Racing suggested, Shalunov and Paterski's cushion out front was starting to deflate:

That duo pushed through the last intermediate sprint of Stage 5, while Gaviria took the virtual lead in the classification after being the first peloton rider to make his way past, with only a minute distancing him from the lead.

Quick-Step Floors were making evident attempts to keep Jungels in the pink jersey by barraging the front with six riders, but Bora-Hansgrohe also looked like challenging for the top spots in their pursuit. 

With just over 10 kilometres to go, Shalunov and Paterski were finally consumed by the chasing pack and began their descent down the order, while Movistar's Rory Sutherland was involved in a crash that saw his chances ruined.

There was cause for awkward laughter entering the circuit finale, too, when Bahrain-Merida rider Luka Pibernik celebrated a premature victory, presumably not realising he had another three-kilometre lap left to run, via Team FDJ:

The general classification riders were safe in their positions after that point, but it was then that Gaviria capped a brave display with a storming finish despite pressure from Bora-Hansgrohe and Lotto-Soudal.

NetApp-Endura cyclist Sam Bennett looked to be the most likely challenger for the stage win after staging an audacious last run at the sprint finish, but Gaviria somehow summoned the energy for a patient triumph.

Per CyclingNews.com, the Colombian said of his most recent victory: "It was a great job by the team. When Bennett went there was a headwind, so I waited and it paid off."