Three riders can forget about Giro d'Italia GC ambitions after the rain-soaked stage five

The major general classification contenders cancelled each other out in the cold, wet fifth stage of the Giro d'Italia. Afonso Eulalio of Bahrain Victorious took the pink jersey with a commanding lead, but on the margins of that story, the GC hopes of several second-tier contenders evaporated entirely.

The most notable name is Einer Rubio of Movistar. The Colombian, who has finished in the top ten at the Giro in each of the past two years, had been part of the early breakaway and spent a long stretch of the stage as the virtual race leader. But that effort came at a heavy price as the race approached Potenza.

Rubio ultimately crossed the line 17 minutes behind stage winner Eulalio, and will now leave the leadership of Movistar's GC effort entirely to Enric Mas — who was part of the GC group throughout.

Also caught out in the same group was Filippo Zana of Soudal Quick-Step, who had been identified beforehand as the Belgian team's GC leader. Zana had already had a difficult stage four, though he was rescued that day by teammates Andrea Raccagni — who now sits fourth overall — and the efforts of Lidl-Trek and Netcompany INEOS. That it was no coincidence became clear 24 hours later, when he cracked again, this time losing considerable time.

At NSN, the team had hoped that Alessandro Pinarello could go deep in the overall — but the Italian, who had finished fifth on Tuesday, also lost 17 minutes on Wednesday. He can now shift his focus towards stage hunting for the remainder of this Giro, while Jan Hirt takes on the GC duties.