Stage 5 of the Giro d’Italia was the second stage raced on Italian soil (with the first three stages being in Denmark) and the first open road race after yesterday’s team time trial.
Team Sky, likely still lamenting the disastrous finish to stage 3, where Mark Cavendish, Taylor Phinney and many other riders were taken down by the reckless, sideways move by Roberto Ferrari of Androni Giacattoli.
As in previous stages, Cavendish’s main competitors to the line were Australian Matt Goss of Orica-GreenEDGE and the American, Tyler Farrar, of Garmin Barracuda. However, Farrar was out of contention before Team Sky even thought of building a leadout train, as he was dropped on the only climb of the day with about 20km to go in the race.
As is typical of the Giro, the 10km of straight open roads turned into narrow twists and turns as the race approached the finish. With half a kilometer to the finish, the Sky train was firmly in control of the peloton, leading out Cavendish for what would be a second win in this year’s Giro.
Goss, who’s not a stranger to finishing second to Cavendish, was firmly latched to his wheel as the Sky train plowed to the finishing line.
Cavendish’s acceleration proved to be a bit much for Goss, who once again ended up the bridesmaid. Daniele Bennati of Radioshack-Nissan and Robbie Hunter of Garmin-Barracuda were third and fourth, respectively.
Cavendish is definitely the man to beat during the flat stages favouring sprinters, but Goss is not to be discounted. The former winner of Milan-San Remo already has one win in this year’s Giro, and I would not discount his ability to win against Cavendish in future stages.
If those wins are to happen, however, Goss and GreenEDGE will have to do it with team tactics and impeccable timing. As the likes of Farrar, Gripel, Renshaw, McEwen and many others can attest, beating Cavendish in a head-to-head sprint is no easy feat.
Stages six, nine and 11 all have a strong probability of ending in a field sprint, and Cavendish, Farrar and Goss will undoubtedly give it their all to be first across the finish line.
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