GIRO - STAGE 5
ANOTHER PODIUM FOR VIVIANI !

In Cattolica today, the Cofidis team demonstrated once again that it is a major player in the sprint. Elia Viviani finished in the 3rd position, which is his 3rd ''top 5'' since the beginning of this Giro. The Italian is now 2nd in the points classification. Nicolas Edet is currently 5th and 1st Frenchman in the overall classification before a new mountain stage tomorrow.

The day after a really tough stage, where the bodies were put to the test under a heavy and continuous rain, today's stage promised to be less demanding (only 200 meters of difference in altitude). Above all, it was supposed to end with a massive sprint in Cattolica on the Adriatic coast and the riders had to be patient and wait for the sprinters to show themselves.

 CONSONNI, SPECTACULAR JOB

At the briefing, all the Cofidis riders were determined to support Elia Viviani. And the plan was respected: with less than 7 km to go, four riders surrounded the Italian sprinter. As the line approached, Attilio Viviani and Fabio Sabatini helped the former European champion. Then, it was Simone Consonni's turn to do a spectacular job to put Elia in the lead. Right before the finish line, the Olympic champion lost by a small margin. Yet, he demonstrated his regularity: he had always finished in the top 5 in the three sprints that took place since the start.

In the "cyclamen" classification, the points classification, Elia Viviani is now 2nd, only 4 points behind Giacomo Nizzolo. On the other hand, Nicolas Edet moves up one place in the overall classification due to the unfortunate crash of Joe Dombrovski and remains best Frenchman in the overall classification.

Tomorrow, the Giro continues and the road will climb again. The program between Grotta Di Frasassi and Ascoli Piceno promises to be tough: 160 km, three passes and a final climb of 3 km with 7,7% difference in altitude. The young riders Victor Lafay and Rémy Rochas hope to try their luck, whereas Nicolas Edet will try to keep up with the best.

THEY SAID

ELIA VIVANI, 3rd of the stage: "It was a nervous day because of the wind. In the final, we were well positioned. With Simone, we were around the 10th position in the last turn. He was very good to stay calm and allow me to do the sprint in the best conditions possible. That was the best job you could hope for in the final. Yet, Caleb (Ewan) was the fastest today. We also score extra points in the best sprinter classification, which is another good result. Day after day we show that we are in the game. "

ROBERTO DAMIANI, team manager: "Step by step, Elia Viviani is more and more present, more and more confident. Simone Consonni was once again exceptional and did an incredible job. We have to remember that the final was very dangerous and we didn't have any crashes. Today we were close to victory but we know that it is not enough and that we have to win. Tomorrow it will be a different Giro. Rémy, Victor and Nicolas will make every effort to perform well in the climbs. It will be a hard stage in terms of intensity, but we will do everything to give our best.

STAGE 6 (160 KM)