The Gorilla Rumbles the Jungle

May 11, 2016 – Germany’s Andre Greipel powered to victory on the fifth stage of the Giro d’Italia on Wednesday, a bunch sprint finish that left Dutchman Tom Dumoulin in the race leader’s pink jersey.

AFP/Yuzuru Sunada

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On the second day back in Italy following three opening stages in Holland, Lotto sprinter Greipel had been looking to redress the balance after seeing compatriot and sprint rival Marcel Kittel (Etixx) claim two consecutive stage wins.

But after a ferocious sprint to the finish of the 233km stage from Praia a Mare in Calabria, Greipel, known as the ‘Gorilla’ for his impressive physique, followed his victory roar by crumbling on the roadside as he tried to recover from his efforts. Arnaud Demare, the French winner of Milan-SanRemo in March, finished a distant second for FDJ with Italian Sonny Colbrelli claiming third place for Bardiani.

Dumoulin, who races for Giant, took the pink jersey after his time-trial win on the opening stage and reclaimed it on Tuesday when he finished second behind Lampre’s Diego Ulissi on stage four.

The Dutchman will wear it going into Thursday’s sixth stage, one of several in the medium mountains that should see the sprinters dropping to the back of the pack.

Final kilometers of Stage 5

Results Stage 5:
1. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal 5:40:35
2. Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ
3. Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF
4. Bob Jungels (Lux) Etixx – Quick-Step
5. Moreno Hofland (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
6. Manuel Belletti (Ita) Southeast – Venezuela
7. Rick Zabel (Ger) BMC Racing Team
8. Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Giant-Alpecin
9. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
10. Alexey Tcatevitch (Rus) Team Katusha

General Classification:
1. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin 19:40:48
2. Bob Jungels (Lux) Etixx – Quick-Step 0:00:16
3. Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre – Merida 0:00:20
4. Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Giant-Alpecin
5. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:00:24
6. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:00:26
7. Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:27
8. Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Team Katusha 0:00:35
9. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team
10. Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sky 0:00:37