Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) used his panache to pass the leading duo breakaway on the finishing straight of the fifth stage of Tirreno-Adriatico. Gilbert led home a small group that contained all the top riders of the general classification, except for race leader Robert Gesink (Rabobank). BMC's Cadel Evans took over the race lead, two seconds ahead of Ivan Basso (Liquigas) and three seconds ahead of Damiano Cunego (Lampre).
While a smiling Gilbert quickly went off to the podium ceremony, previous race leader Robert Gesink (Rabobank) was disappointed to have lost the number one spot in the overall. "It was an extremely difficult day, maybe the most stressful race that I ever had," he said. Gesink, with Giovanni Visconti in tow, tried everything to get back to the group of favorites on the wet descent into Castelraimondo. His consolation was that he is only five seconds adrift. "I am satisfied after this tough and stressful stage. It went pretty well, but on the last climb I was too far back and I missed the move." He didn't blame anybody but himself. "It is as it is, I was simply beaten."
His director Nico Verhoeven also hasn't given up hope yet. "Tomorrow there is another difficult stage and we have to make sure that Robert is well again. The gaps are very small."
The ending of stage five was quite thrilling , with the remnants of the day's break, Andrey Amador (Movistar) and Davide Malacarne (Quick Step), sitting only a few seconds ahead of the 11-man group of favorites after the final climb of the Gagliole, with less than seven kilometers remaining. But the tactical plays behind left the duo up front all the way to the finish line.
Malacarne's attempt to stay in second spot all the way to the sprint backfired, when the group finally came around the leaders in the waning meters of the race. Gilbert stormed up the right hand side of the road, passing Wout Poels (Vacansoleil) and resisting Cunego's last charge.
Poels had been the first to reach the leading duo. "I was really strong today and was so close to get my first World Tour win. It is nice to be still there to fight for the win after two stages of such length," Poels said. "But that I couldn't win today makes it a bit sour."
Evans finished in a group two seconds behind the six first riders, unable to contest the sprint. "I really don't think on a finish like that I'm going to be able to beat Gilbert," Evans said. "But I was caught back in traffic and couldn't get anywhere in the finish, which is a bit disappointing. But for the GC, it was reasonably successful." Evans profited from the fact that Gesink 14 seconds to Gilbert and 12 seconds to Evans.
There are now five riders within five seconds in the battle for the final win, with the crucial 9.3km time trial on Tuesday to decide the winner. That final day will be for Evans himself to win or lose, but on Monday he needs the same team work that was especially visible on the major climb of Sasso Tetto and towards the end of stage five. "Lampre rode a good tempo and then actually George [Hincapie] nearly rode the entire second half of the climb," Evans said. "He's riding really well. There were a few people close on GC that we were always preferring to eliminate, so that was a good move by George."
Malacarne still celebrated a 'win', as he donned the climber's jersey. "Today I'm too tired to think about it; tomorrow morning we'll figure out what we need to do. Of course, I'm going to give it my all to defend the jersey."
Another long stage
Another long stage meant an early start time of 9:30 am. From the 155 riders who set off, the most awake were Fabian Wegmann (Leopard), Andrey Amador (Movistar), Davide Malacarne (Quick Step), Matthew Hayman (Sky), and Jens Mouris (Vacansoleil). They took off at kilometer seven and slowly built a maximum lead of 11'25 by the feed zone at kilometer 120. This marked the halfway point.
Around 30 kilometers layer they passed the highest point of this year's Tirreno race, the Sasso Tetto (1455 meters). Malacarne was ahead of Wegmann, Amador and Hayman, while Mouris had been dropped. The Vacansoleil rider came over the top 2'40 behind the leading quartet.
Over the Montagna di Camerino (535 meters), Wegmann was first, followed by Malacarne, Hayman and Amador. The bunch followed four minutes later. With 26 kilometers to go, Wegmann led the leaders over the finish line for the first time, with one local lap still to complete. The gap was around three minutes at this point.
A couple of kilometers later, Amador attacked the front group, hoping for stage glory. The rhythm in the Gesink group, with about 40 riders left, was very nervous. The slight rain made everyone weary of the slippery roads. Malacarne came back to Amador with 20km to go, while Wegmann and Hayman were unable to rejoin the front.
The gap dropped to under two minutes, as Lampre was setting a furious pace. The team had both Cunego and Scarponi sitting close to leader Gesink in the overall. Amador and Malacarne did well and still held 1'46 with 12km to go. At this point the battered main bunch came through the finish area for the first time - trailing by a staggering 14 kilometers.
On a little rise with less than 11km to go, Malacarne tried a surprise surge, but Amador was quick to reel the Quick Step rider back in. BMC also showed itself on the front of the group of favorites, to control the pace for Evans.
Going up the final climb, the Gagliole, Amador and Malacarne had a little discussion, trying to figure out who should do the pacemaking. Malacarne led Amador over the top, with the group of favorites around half a minute behind.
Danilo Di Luca was the first to attack on the hill, with Scarponi and Cunego chasing close behind. Surprisingly, Gesink was dropped and tried to chase back with Giovanni Visconti, with only six kilometers remaining.
The front group had shrunk to about a dozen riders, with Vincenzo Nibali the first to give it a go. Other moves by Marco Pinotti and Michele Scarponi followed, but the group essentially stayed intact. With less than three kilometers to go, the leading duo had a gap of seven seconds. The marking behind ensured that the lead of Amador and Malacarne increased again to ten seconds with one kilometer to go.
But Malacarne started playing games and was completely unaware of what was going on behind him. Malacarne was stunned as Wout Poels passed him, with Amador still trying to win the stage. But he was passed in the waning meters by Gilbert, Poels, Cunego and Di Luca.