Bunch sprints, successful breakaways, crashes, and a general classification reshuffle; stages 5-9 of this year’s Giro d’Italia produced it all.
Fernando Gaviria (QuickStep Floors) became the first man to win two stages of the 2017 Giro d’Italia while his teammate Bob Jungels battled to hold onto pink for as long as he could. Silvan Dillier (BMC) and Gorka Izagirre (Movistar) made the most of successful breakaways in nail-biting finales whilst Nairo Quintana asserted his dominance on the first GC showdown on the Blockhaus climb.
The race is far from over and there is still plenty to look forward to. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy the following gallery showcasing all the joy, pain and disappointment of stages 5-9 of the 100th Giro d’Italia.
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- Great weather and great scenery awaited the riders on stage 5 — the race’s final stage on Sicily.
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- Tributes for Michele Scarponi have been a common sight this past week.
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- Australian Rory Sutherland (Movistar) took a tumble on stage 5 was fine in the end.
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- Fernando Gaviria took his second stage win in Messina. A few minutes earlier, Luka Pibernik (Bahrain-Merida) had celebrated as if he’d won the stage, not realising there was a 6km lap of town remaining.
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- On stage 6 the riders hit the Italian mainland for the first time.
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- The stage to Terme Luiguane featured a couple of climbs and saw a small breakaway lead for the entire stage.
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- On the uphill drag to the line, Silvan Dillier and Jasper Stuyven emerged as the strongest in the breakaway.
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- Dillier took the win against his more fancied rival …
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- … much to his surprise.
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- Actor Patrick Dempsey was on hand to see the riders off on stage 7.
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- Getting in the breakaway is a great opportunity for the smaller teams to get some TV time.
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- A job well done.
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- After a frustrating week of near-misses, Caleb Ewan (Orica-Scott) took out stage 7 …
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- … narrowly beating Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) and points classification leader Fernando Gaviria.
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- A delighted Ewan is congratulated by teammate Ruben Plaza.
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- Stage 8 began in the seaside town of Molfetta.
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- As on stage 6, the breakaway would go on to contest the stage win.
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- Inside the final kilometre, while leading the breakaway, Valerio Conti (UAE Team Emirates) slipped out on an uphill right-hand hairpin.
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- Gorka Izagirre (Movistar) used Conti’s crash to his advantage, launching clear of his companions.
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- He opened up enough of a gap on Giovanni Visconti (Bahrain-Merida) to celebrate as he crossed the line.
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- Izagirre gets a hug from teammate Jose Herrada who, in turn, gets some attention from his team staff.
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- By finishing in 10th on the stage, 12 seconds down, Bob Jungels secured himself another day in pink.
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- Stage 9, the final test before the second rest day, featured a summit finish to Blockhaus. The breakaway had survived on the first summit finish, on stage 4, but they wouldn’t manage to this time.
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- On the slopes of the Blockhaus climb, with the break caught, Movistar drove the pace, and shredded the peloton.
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- Last year’s fourth-place finisher Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL-Jumbo) couldn’t handle the pace of the Movistar train.
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- Nairo Quintana put in three attacks in the final 7km.
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- The first saw just Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) and Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) able to follow …
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- … but then Quintana went on his own again, riding towards a stage victory.
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- A pair of Dutchmen, Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) and Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), combined with Pinot towards the top.
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- Vincenzo Nibali couldn’t handle the pace of Quintana, but the race is far from over.
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- Quintana wins stage 9 and moves into the overall lead.
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- Pinot was second in a sprint against Dumoulin.
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- Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin) finished 2:14 down on Quintana and now sits seventh overall, 2:28 down.
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- Geraint Thomas (Sky) crosses the line more than five minutes down …
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- … after being caught up in a crash caused by a police moto pilot.
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- Nairo Quintana, leader of the 2017 Giro d’Italia after stage 9.