UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider Igor Arrieta overcame a crash and a wrong turn to win a dramatic Stage 5 of the Giro d'Italia.
Arrieta got the better of Afonso Eulalio (Bahrain Victorious) in the final 100 metres, although Portugal's Eulalio seized the overall lead in a rain-drenched stage.
Arrieta suffered a crash with 13.5km to go, only to then rejoin Eulalio when the Bahrain Victorious rider also crashed a few moments later.
The Bahrain Victorious rider joined solo leader Arrieta at the front near the summit of the Montagna Grande di Viggiano climb and when Arrieta took a wrong turn, he looked certain to take the win.
But UAE Team Emirates rider Arrieta had other ideas and reeled in Eulalio along the finishing straight. Both riders suffered falls on the roads made greasy by heavy rain.
They stayed well clear of the pursuers, however, and around seven minutes ahead of the group containing Italian Giulio Ciccone who had started the 203km stage in the pink jersey.
“I don't really know what to say. I'm really, really happy to achieve this victory, it means a lot for me. Because of the crash [on Stage 2] and all the teammates who went home,” Spaniard Arrieta said.
“I didn't think it was lost [after crashing], I needed to try until the end, after the hard stage that we did, you never know. I was completely empty in the last kilometres but I knew Eulalio was also the same, and both of us deserved the victory, but in the end I had it.
“When I lost Eulalio in the last two kilometres I was like 'it's not possible' but then I kept pushing, I saw that he cannot go faster than me, and then when I took his wheel I was like 'maybe I can win one stage'.”
It marked a second straight successful day for UAE Team Emirates after a horror start to the race.
On Saturday, lead rider Adam Yates, Jay Vine and Marc Soler were among those who were forced out of the Grand Tour following the huge Stage 2 crash.
On Tuesday, Ecuadorian rider Jhonatan Narvaez secured victory in Stage 4 after a superb push near the finish line.
Stage 5
Stage winners
1. Igor Arrieta (UAE Team Emirates-XRG): 5:07:51
2. Afonso Eulalio (Bahrain Victorious): +2
3. Thomas Silva (XDS Astana Team): +51
Overall standing
1. Afonso Eulalio (Bahrain Victorious): 21:27:43
2. Igor Arrieta (UAE Team Emirates-XRG): +2:51
3. Christian Scaroni (XDS Astana Team): +3:34
