Lorena Wiebes sprinted to victory on the fifth stage of the Women’s Giro d’Italia, her second win of the race so far.
A group of 15 broke away from the peloton with 53km to go and on an almost entirely flat ride from Mirano and Monselice, pushed all the way to the finish line, with Wiebes just pipping her Dutch compatriot Marianne Vos.
Germany’s Liane Lippert finished third and Switzerland’s Marlen Reusser came fifth to hold on to her overall lead.
Movistar’s Reusser has a 16-second advantage over last year’s champion, Elisa Longo Borghini of Italy, who is second.
Great Britain’s Anna Henderson remains in 13th, more than 11 minutes behind the leader, after a difficult fourth stage.
“The whole team did really well. First, we controlled the breakaway with the team, and then we put the race in the gutter a bit together with UAE Team ADQ,” said SD Worx-Protime’s Wiebes.
“The peloton broke and we had to finish it off, and the girls did amazing again, with Barbara [Guarischi] and Lotte [Kopecky] leading me out, it’s really great to have them.”
It is Wiebes’ second stage win in the space of three days, having claimed stage three on Tuesday.
Friday’s sixth stage presents a different challenge with a hilly 145km route from Bellaria-Igea Marina to Terre Roveresche.