Giro d'Italia: Enrico Battaglin wins Stage 5, Rohan Dennis keeps overall lead

LottoNL-Jumbo rider Enrico Battaglin, beaten into third place by Lotto Fix All’s Tim Wellens on Stage 4 of the Giro d’Italia in Caltagirone yesterday, has today taken his third career stage win in his home Grand Tour, winning Stage 5 from Agrigento to Santa Ninfa.

This afternoon, the 28-year-old outsprinted Bahrain-Merida’s Giovanni Visconti and Jose Goncalves of Katusha-Alpecin to win the hilly 153-kilometre stage.

“Today's finish was different from yesterday's,” Battaglin said. “It was a very powerful one yesterday. I was more at ease here.

“The Giro is very important for me every year,” he added. “I'm extremely happy to be a stage winner again. I want to continue the race this way.”

Race leader Rohan Dennis of BMC Racing came home safely in the bunch on a day when there was no change at the top of the general classification ahead of defending champion Tom Dumoulin of Team Sunweb and Mitchelton-Scott’s Simon Yates.

Dennis said: “It was a nice day on the bike, on quite a slow pace because of the head wind.

“I felt a bit of stress every now and then but I am glad to be in the Maglia Rosa.

“We're only on day five, that means sixteen days to go. Tomorrow will be another story with the Etna. I'm looking forward to see how I'll go up there.”

A late crash dealt a further blow to the overall hopes of Astana leader Miguel Angel Lopez, the Colombian having already lost time to his rivals after coming down in Friday’s opening time trial in Jerusalem.

Following today’s crash, which happened with 5 kilometres left, he was shepherded home by team mate Luis Leon Sanchez and lost almost three quarters of a minute to the other overall contenders.