Despite falls in the closing kilometers, Igor Arrieta and Afonso Eulalio were able to stay away from a 13-man breakaway and contest a two-man sprint in Potenza during Stage 5 of the 2026 Giro d’Italia.
With 13km to go, the Spaniard slipped. 6km further, the same happened to the Portuguese. With 2km remaining and the duo back together, Eulalio took the right road while Arrieta went straight and had to chase his rival again. It was a duel of two exhausted cyclists. Arrieta made the best of it eventually but Eulalio also rode to glory as he claimed the Maglia Rosa with an advantage of more than six minutes over the GC favourites.
Speaking in the press conference, the stage winner Igor Arrieta said: “It was both a hard and crazy day, especially because of the weather. It wasn’t very cold at the start but later on in a long descent and there was a big mess with a breakaway. We didn’t know who was at the front, the radios were not working, then two of us from the team made the breakaway. It was difficult to find the right moment to make a move. I anticipated because other guys would try in climb. Eulalio was strong. He caught me in a steep long climb, we spoke to arrive together at the finish, but I crashed, then he crashed, then I went straight in a corner, but I said to myself that it was not possible to finish like this. I did my best. When I saw Eulalio suffering, I took his wheel and it was super nice to win. Yesterday’s win by Jhonathan Narvaez has been a big Inspiration but also my teammates who went home on the second day after crashing. They worked so hard for this Giro and in one corner, all the work was wasted”.
The Maglia Rosa Afonso Eulalio said: “After our leader Santiago Buitrago crashed out, the plan today was to go all in for the stage victory. The final was crazy. It was slippery in the last 20km. When I crashed, it was a crazy moment but the mechanic was super fast to give a spare bike that was my size and already ready. So I didn’t have much time to think. I had to fight for the stage win and the Maglia Rosa. It was not a sprint at the, Arrieta and I arrived completely dead, just fighting with our bike, it was one of the slowest sprints ever, I think. The Maglia Rosa wasn’t exactly a dream because I never dreamt of arriving in the WorldTour. I was enjoying my time in mountain biking, then I was advised to try road racing too and now I’m here with the Maglia Rosa but I still have a lot to learn in road cycling. Luckily, I have my ‘capitano’ Damiano Caruso as a teacher. I don’t know for how long I can keep the Maglia Rosa. The ITT is too long, I’m not good at that, there’s also a super long stage the day before, we’ll see what we can do”.
Stage 5 Brief Results:
- Igor Arrieta (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – 203 km in 5h07’51” average speed 39.564 km/h
- Afonso Eulalio (Bahrain Victorious) at 2″
- Guillermo Thomas Silva (XDS Astana Team) at 51″
General Classification After Stage 5:
- Afonso Eulalio (Bahrain Victorious)
- Igor Arrieta (UAE Team Emirates XRG) at 2’51”
- Christian Scaroni (XDS Astana Team) at 3’34”
Official Jerseys:
- Maglia Rosa, leader of the General Classification, sponsored by Io Sono Friuli Venezia Giulia – Afonso Eulalio (Bahrain Victorious)
- Maglia Ciclamino, leader of the Points Classification, in cooperation with ITA – Italian Trade Agency – Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step)
- Maglia Azzurra, leader of the Gran Premio della Montagna Classification, sponsored by Banca Mediolanum – Diego Pablo Sevilla (Team Polti VisitMalta)
- Maglia Bianca, Best Young Rider Classification, born after 1 January 2001, sponsored by Conad – Afonso Eulalio (Bahrain Victorious) – worn by Igor Arrieta (UAE Team Emirates XRG)
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