Giro d'Italia: Quotes from the finish line of stage 5

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Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) gives thumbs up to the crowd in the pink jersey (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)

Less than a week into the Giro d'Italia and Alberto Contador raced into the maglia rosa on stage 5 to Abetone. The Spaniard now holds a delicate two-second lead over Fabio Aru (Astana).

Giro d’Italia stage 5 preview: Contador, Aru and Porte set for battle on first summit finish to Abetone

The stage victory was a one-man battle as Jan Polanc (Lampre-Merida) fought against himself in his solo pursuit of the line. The Slovenian had plenty of time to celebrate as he crossed the finish line 1:31 ahead of the chasing group.

Here are a collection of reactions to what was another big day for the Giro d'Italia peloton.

Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo)

"I didn't think about the attack, I decided that I would go there and I looked at the other riders. I tried and I think that in the end it is a good result. [Rigoberto] Urán was dropped with other riders and ok [Fabio] Aru and Richie [Porte] were very strong but I think this is a good situation after five stages.

On the pressure of the pink jersey: "For us it's the same. I'm very happy because to have the pink jersey is incredible but we can lose it tomorrow, for example. The most important thing for us is to have the pink jersey in Milan."

Jan Polanc (Lampre-Merida)

"I've been waiting a long time for my first victory and I've tried a lot of times in the breakaway this year and finally I reached the finish line. It's an amazing feeling... I want to say thanks to my team and sponsors for giving me an opportunity to ride this Giro and of course my family and friends.

"First we were just thinking about pushing and trying to get the maximum advantage. We saw that the gap was big and that we could reach the finish line, then we started to think about who was the strongest in the breakaway. I saw in the climbs that my legs were good and I know that I am a good climber so I tried to go long because I know that the climb wasn't very steep, and that I needed to push because Chavanel is also a very good rider and I needed to drop him early."

Roman Kreuziger (Tinkoff-Saxo)

"Alberto attacked because he felt that he had good legs. He didn't really think about it he just went and the tactic was for him to try and attack today."