Giro 2023: Stage 5 Preview for Salerno – Which Sprinters Will Survive?

The fifth stage in the Giro d’Italia is a real transitional stage. GC riders will not lose sleep over the altimeters at this point and the sprinters will consider this day a half chance. Especially in the early part of the day the necessary altimeters are made. cycling flash He looks forward.

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The stage begins in the Apennine village of Atripalda, in the province of Avellino. With just over 11,000 residents, the Italian municipality isn’t that big, but Atrebalda has a rich history dating back to pre-Roman times. Memories of that period can no longer be seen in the village today, but it is possible to see them from later periods. For example, the Norman castle of the eleventh century is one of the main attractions.

After the start on the Atripalda, the first categorized climb of the day follows very quickly: walk pass (3.8 kilometers, an average of 7.6 percent). Not a scary climb, but a good opportunity for an early trip to get away. After Passo Serra is a continuous ups and downs of ungraded hills. After about seventy kilometers there is the summit Guardia de Lombardi (8.4 km, or 3 percent).

The highest point of the day is reached on this climb: 972 metres. In the last 100 kilometres, the peloton accelerates towards sea level, towards Salerno. The third category is still a climb to Oliveto Citra (2.9km at 7.9 per cent speed) after a challenging 110km, but then there are mainly flat or downhill kilometers to the finish.

The sprinters hope to be able to sprint to victory in the coastal city of Salerno, but aren’t the altimeters in the early part of the stage a good thing? In any case, riders on the break will see opportunities.

Official start: 12:40 p.m
Official start: 12:55 p.m
finish: Between 5:00 PM and 5:25 PM
distance: 171 kilometers

Favorite

We already had this Giro’s stage which is a bit like the Salerno stage. We aim to ride three, to my file. Although Venom was on his tail then and now the preliminary stage is particularly difficult, the same kind of riders seem to have a chance of winning. So they are runners, but not pure runners. It won’t be easy for guys like Mark Cavendish and David Dekker to survive on the slopes the first 120km. Moreover, after the walk pass (3.8 kilometers, an average of 7.6 percent), Last climb of the day, not too far after you’re done. Only the last 50 kilometers are in a descending or flat line. It will not stop there.

DSM, who must defend Andreas Leknessund’s pink, won’t want to give too much space to the early break. Trek-Segafredo, Alpecin-Deceuninck and Jayco AlUla also benefit from this. They will also want to lay the string to release some of the fasting men. With Mads Pedersen, Kaden Groves and Michael Matthews each of these teams has a rider in their ranks who can handle the hill. And if some competitors come out, then of course it will be easier to run.

Matthews wins in my file – Photo: Cor Voss

Mad Pedersen Perhaps the fastest of the three on paper. In my file was beaten Michael Mathews, but the Dane says he made a mistake there. His reaction to the Aussie’s try was delayed. In addition, Salerno’s finish is flat, which probably suits Pedersen better than Matthews. The latter favors a sloping access corridor. So if both of them are in the suit going off in Salerno, Pedersen has the advantage.

On the other hand, Trek-Segafredo’s powerhouse has a little more difficulty on the climb than Matthews, as proved on stage three. In the difficult opening stage, the Dane will suffer more than the Australian, and with a really difficult start, he can push his limits. After all, on the way to Melfi there were also about seventy to eighty riders in the peloton when Pedersen left (briefly).

Pedersen with Matthews in his wheel – Photo: Cor Voss

Maybe unite Caden Groves The best of Pedersen and Mathews. The Alpecin-Deceuninck racer can win mass sprints and can climb very well. He showed the latter, for example, at the Volta Limburg Classic, where he crossed the line as the winner after a tough race. At the Tour of Catalunya he won a large group sprint. He’s come up short twice in this Giro, but with two third places the Australian can be called consistent. Now comes the dissonant?

Groves was one of the few sprinters on the stage to Lago Laseno who did not finish on the bus, but in front of it. However, he was not alone. also Pascale Ackermann He came ahead of the group of runners. Although it was only a few minutes long, it shows that the German is climbing this Giro really well. On Tuesday, he put his nose in the window when it was already a good track – uphill. However, a good (or at least somewhat good) climb is only a prerequisite for success in Salerno, not yet a guarantee. This also requires leg speed in particular. In recent years those seem increasingly absent from Ackermann, but his sixth place in San Salvo shows he still wants to throw himself in between them.

Caden Groves – Photo: Cor Vos

Incidentally in San Salvo, another German finished fifth, Marius Maierhofer. It can also handle the climbs, otherwise you wouldn’t have won the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race. But in my file it was not from the first group. But now that the DSM team is out on pink, the team will be in Winning mood We are. Who knows, Mayrhofer might take advantage of it, even though part of his train might be smoked while chasing the fugitives.

Why are we talking about the fifth and sixth numbers in San Salvo, when we can also talk about the winner? Jonathan Milan He cruised impressively to claim his first Grand Tour win on Sunday. The points jersey had to come down the stage to Melfi, but if the course developments were more favorable on the way to Salerno, he might have been able to take his second win in this Giro. The speed is there.

Milan’s cry of joy – Photo: Cor Vos

Fernando Gaviria It seems to have found this speed also in the Movistar service, a few years later less. In the run-up to the Giro, the Colombian collected the necessary places of honor and managed to win twice. He cruised to victory in a very difficult stage of the Tour de Romandie. Gaviria, who finished seventh in San Salvo and didn’t survive in Melfi, will set his sights on a trip to Salerno. It has been since 2019 since he won a stage in a Grand Tour. It was then that he won the Giro stage on Orbetello, a stage with some profile similarities to the stage with Salerno.

Niccolo Bonifazio He finished in San Salvo one place behind Gaviria, eighth. Therefore, the 29-year-old was not the best rider at Intermarché-Circus-Wanty, because Arne Marit crossed the line in fourth place. However, the trip to Salerno seems more favorable to Bonifazio, who goes uphill well. If Maret does not survive, the Italian can go for his own chances. At the Tour of Sicily, he has success day after day on a stage with a personality similar to this one.

Gaviria finished fifth in the Romandie – Photo: Cor Vos

for Italy Simon Consoni – Eleventh in San Salvo – He also managed to score. It usually goes up fine, but the last few weeks really don’t want to go smoothly. Magnus Court Still looking for his best legs. The 30-year-old Dane has had a good start to the season, especially in the Volta ao Algarve, but then things went a little lower. He also had to be released early in the flight to Melfi. However, things can also go the other way with Cort, always remaining a dangerous customer.

As for the quick guy, the following names have to be mentioned: Jake Stewart (Groupama-FDJ), Andrea Vendrum (AG2R Citroën), Filippo Fiorelli (Green Project-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè), Davide Ballerini (Soudal Quick-Step) and Vincenzo Albanese (EOLO -Kometa), who took off his jacket in the fourth stage. It was actually with the “early” flight.

Consonni after winning a stage in the Saudi Tour – Photo: Cor Vos

If an early breakaway breaks out in the opening stage and the sprinter’s teams don’t move to close the gap, Gianni Moscone, Samuel Battistella, Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana Kazakhstan), Alberto Petiol (EF Education-Easy Post), Lorenzo Rota, Lorenz Rex (Inmarché-Circus-Wanty) ) and Mads Würtz Schmidt (Israel-Premier Tech) are among the contenders.

Favorites according to WielerFlits
**** Caden Groves
*** Mads Pedersen, Michael Matthews
** Jonathan Milan, Fernando Gaviria, Pascal Ackermann
* Simone Consoni, Magnus Kurt, Niccolo Bonifazio, Marius Mayerhofer

Giro 2023: List of participants

weather and television

The weather will be dog on Wednesday Atripalda and Salerno: Overcast and raining cats and dogs all day. The temperature rises to about 19°C and the wind (3 Bft) comes from the south.

Eurosport The Giro d’Italia is broadcast in its entirety from start to finish. Broadcasting begins on Wednesdays at 12.20pm.