Fernando Gaviria takes second Giro d'Italia win on stage five

Quick-Step Floors' Fernando Gaviria won his second stage of the 2017 Giro d'Italia to take over the ciclamino points jersey on stage five into Messina.

Credit: telegraph.co.uk
Colombian Gaviria was led out to perfection by his Quick-Step teammate, Max Richeze, and managed to fend off Jakub Mareczko (Willier Selle Italia), Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe), Andre Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) and Phil Bauhaus (Team Sunweb) to win his second stage of his debut Giro d'Italia and take the ciclamino points jersey.

Gaviria's lead out man Richeze said after the stage: "At the beginning of this stage, Fernando wasn't in great shape. We knew he'd feel better as we headed closer towards the finish line. We moved well as a team when we came towards the finish line and put him [Gaviria] in a good position and it went well."

The duo in the day's break were wildcard riders Maciej Paterski (CCC) and Evgeny Shalunov (Gazprom), keen to make the most of the short stage and give their sponsors some TV time on the 159km ride from Pedara to Vincenzo Nibali's hometown of Messina

Paterski took maximum points at each intermediate sprint and as the race neared the final 35km the break only had a measly advantage of two minutes 30 seconds - the same as it had been all day. their gap didn't last long though and were caught inside 15km to go on the approach into the coastal city of Messina.

The pace of the peloton through the narrow streets of Messina was as searing as the heat, as the teams tried to organise themselves with in the final 7km.

The strangest of events happened when the peloton crossed the line for start of the final lap with 6km to go. Luka Pibernik (Bahrain-Merida) had pushed clear of the pelton by a few metres and thought he had won the stage when he crossed the finish line and had clearly not realised there was another lap to go as he raised him arms in victory. He'd used such an effort he plummeted back through the peloton looking bemused and confused as the sprint trains enveloped him.

Coming out of the roundabout with 1km to go, Lotto-Soudal seemed to have control at the front but storming up the middle of the road was Quick-Step Floors. With a teammate pushing at the front, Gaviria sat behind Richeze in the pack of ten sprinters and waited to be dropped off in the perfect position.

Bora-Hansgrohe took over at the front for Bennett but Gaviria left it late to power past the Irishman and win his second stage of the 100th Giro d'Italia.

Stage six is of a similar nature to today's stage although slightly longer and lumpier towards the end - 217km heading north east on the west coast of the toe of the Italian mainland from Reggio Calabia to Terme Luigiane. With a rise up to the finish it's likely we'll see a puncheur win the stage.

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