How close was that?! Pedersen wins his third Giro stage in Matera with a slim margin and strengthens his lead in the pink jersey

After Casper van Uden caused a big surprise on Tuesday by beating Olav Kooij and Maikel Zijlaard in the streets of Lecce, it was time for another punchy finale in the Giro on Wednesday. In the fifth stage, the riders set off from Ceglie Messapica towards Matera, where the finish line awaited after 151 kilometers and an explosive finale. On paper, it was an excellent finale for Wout van Aert, although the Belgian rider from Visma | Lease a Bike was cautious in his predictions.

We saw a lone breakaway rider on Tuesday, but on Wednesday, there were three. Once again, the battle for the early breakaway was decided in no time, as an Italian trio quickly pulled away. Lorenzo Milesi (Movistar), Davide Bais (Polti VisitMalta), and Gisuè Epis (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) took their places in the leading group. The peloton gave them quite a bit of freedom in the opening phase.

We finally got some action at 108 kilometers in an otherwise somewhat boring opening phase. Several riders, including Pedersen, Jensen Plowright, and Olav Kooij, showed themselves in the run-up to the intermediate sprint. Epis had already won the intermediate sprint at the front. Still, Pedersen was the one who won the sprint for fourth place after taking the turn brilliantly, earning the Dane three points in the points classification. This was despite Visma | Lease a Bike having four riders (!) in the lead-up to that sprint.

With 64 kilometers to go, Kooij got another chance in a new intermediate sprint in Marina di Ginosa. Still, once again, the holder of the purple jersey (which belonged to Pedersen) failed to score any points. Plowright was once again beaten by Pedersen in that intermediate sprint, giving the Dane three more points in the battle for purple. This extended his virtual lead to 37 points. Kooij seemed to have no desire to get involved in the three-point battle.

In the run-up to the final phase, we saw another duo from Bardiani crash. It was an awkward moment for the Italians, who have not had a lucky Giro so far. Fortunately, they were both able to get back on their bikes. Up front, it was Bais who suddenly accelerated with just over 40 kilometers to go. Milesi could respond, but Epis, feeling the effects of his intermediate sprints, had to let go. The two headed towards the climb of Montescaglioso, which would prove to be the toughest test of the day.

The pace picked up thanks to Lidl-Trek and UAE Team Emirates - XRG. Juan Ayuso's men, in particular, pushed hard at the front, and the sprinters dropped like flies. Olav Kooij, Milan Fretin, Sam Bennett, Maikel Zijlaard, Casper van Uden, Matteo Moschetti, Kaden Groves... This left the door wide open on the short but steep climb. The breakaway riders still had a minute's lead at the top, but the peloton was closing in fast.

Van Aert also had to drop back but was brought back by Steven Kruijswijk on the descent. Groves, dropped just before the top, could also return. The main question was: what was UAE up to? The team from the Emirates had pushed hard on the climb, but was that to try and win the stage with Isaac Del Toro? Or did Ayuso's team have even more ambitious plans for their leader?

With 13 kilometers to go, it was all over for the remaining front runners. They were caught by a peloton that had picked up speed considerably. Jay Vine continued to do the work at the front, which was an impressive effort by the Australian. Van Aert was no longer in contention for the stage win, as the Belgian dropped back after a short turn at the front. Bart Lemmen then took the lead, although it was unclear why, as Kooij had long since been dropped. Only Simon Yates was still in contention for the Killer Bees.

Primoz Roglic started the decisive move with an acceleration at 2.4 kilometers from the finish. Vacek took over but did not notice that Pedersen could not keep up shortly before the summit, while Del Toro was also well positioned at the front. Once he realized what was happening, Vacek held back to assist Pedersen. Damiano Caruso attacked at that point but to no avail.

It would be an uphill sprint that would decide the race. Vacek saw that Pedersen was suddenly back on his wheel, after which the pink jersey started the sprint from afar. Tom Pidcock came close, but Zambanini came even closer. Pedersen took the victory by the narrowest of margins.