Giro d'Italia Stage 5 Live - Will the sprinters survive the hilly ride to Matera?

Lorenzo Milesi (Movistar) and Davide Bais (Polti VisitMalta) push on but the peloton is at 40 seconds.  

There is now a descent but then the road again rolls and climbs.

The peloton is just 1:05 down on the break now. 

Kaden Groves of Alpecin is also struggling but fighting to stay in contact. 

Lorenzo Milesi (Movistar) leads Davide Bais (Polti VisitMalta) over the summit of the cat 4 climb. 

The final metres to the KOM are at 14%. 

This could hurt the GC riders.

And there is still a kilometre to climb!

Sam Bennett has also been distanced.

Olav Kooij is also dropped. 

Will he try to get back on or is he out of contention? 

The pace means some riders are being spat out of the back. 

We can see Ethan Hayter at the back. Milan Fretin of Cofidis has been distanced.

Mads Pedersen is near the front with several teammates. 

Here we go! 

The peloton is lined across the road as they dance on the pedals.

The riders start the Montescaglioso climb with 30km to go. 

This could see the race explode!

Lorenzo Milesi (Movistar) has caught Davide Bais (Polti VisitMalta) as the peloton hesitates, to ensure their sprinters survive the climbs in the finale.  

Matera has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993 and peopel have lived there for 5000 year, initially in caves.

The ancient town is divided into two districts, Sasso Caveoso and Sasso Barisano, with the rocky spur of the Civita in the center, home to noble palaces and the Cathedral.

The stage finishes near the city centre. 

You may recognise the streets of Matera from a James Bond movie. 

40km to go

It's surprising to see the break fall apart like that but Davide Bais (Polti VisitMalta) is looking for some personal glory and television time.  

But as the road starts to rise, Davide Bais (Polti VisitMalta) is not happy and jumps away alone. 

The breakaway trio have accelerated as they try to keep their 2:00 lead.

50km to go

The gap to the break is down to 1:00 as the break nears the Red Bull sprint. 

They both get up but the tension is rising in the peloton.

Alessandro Pinarello and Filippo Magli went down after a sudden breaking in the bunch. 

Crash! 

Jacopo Mosca is still riding on the front for Lidl-Trek and Pedersen. 

He has been pushing 320 watts all day.   

The riders have crossed into the Basilicata region of southern Italy. 

The road is still flat but will soon get lumpy. 

The riders are passing the archaeological park of Metaponto. Its temples were built by the Greeks 2,500 years ago and offer a breathtaking leap into the past of what was once considered the capital of Magna Graecia.

The pace is steady in the peloton, very steady. 

Riders sitting on the wheels are probably pushing less than 200 watts as they rolling along in the slipstream. 

Mads Pedersen is enjoy the pink vibes of the Giro d'Italia.

These are the jerseys of the Giro. 

Most towns and villages close down as the race goes by, especially start town like Ceglie Messapica.

There are always huge crowds in the south of Italy when the Giro goes by.

Jensen Plowright of Alpecin is fighting with Pedersen today in the intermediate sprints.

Olav Kooij tried to get involved but seemed to back off. He is perhaps saving his legs for the final sprint in Matera.

Pedersen again wins the sprint behind with a long surge. 

He is in the pink jersey but is also racing for the points jersey, his objective for the whole Giro.   

Giosuè Epis (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and ​Davide Bais (Polti VisitMalta) fight for the sprint prizes and glory again. 

Epis takes it again, as Malesi watches the ProTeam riders fight it out. 

It's time for the second intermediate sprint. 

80km to go

The gap remains 2:00. 

The chase will probably accelerate when the riders turn right and away from the coast. 

The riders are on the main highway and so there are two lanes for the rides to fan out across the road.

90km to go

The trio of Giosuè Epis (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), ​​Davide Bais (Polti VisitMalta) and Lorenzo Milesi (Movistar) lead by 2:10. 

There is a sea breeze blowing as we predicted and so the peloton is lined out. but there is not enough wind or desire for echelon racing.

The riders can now enjoy views across the sea,. They're in the instep of the Italian peninsular, in the far south of Italy.  

After a fast but steady hour of racing, the riders have covered 45.100km. 

There is never really a quiet day at the Giro.  

But Pedersen jumps first, dives through a late corner fast to take fourth place in the sprint. 

He scores just a few points and enjoys surprising his rivals.  

In the peloton Visma have taken control of the peloton, so Kooij will contenst the sprint with Pedersen for points.

Giosuè Epis (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and ​​Davide Bais (Polti VisitMalta) go shoulder to shoulder and Epis wins it!

The prize money will help ease the pain of his effort in the break.

Its time for the first intermediate sprint in Massafra. 

120km to go

Up front, the trio of Giosuè Epis (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), ​​Davide Bais (Polti VisitMalta) and Lorenzo Milesi (Movistar) are working well together.

They're riding their own three-rider team time trial and lead by 1:45. 

Southern Italy is still lush and green due to a wet and warm spring. 

We'll bring some of the best photos from the race soon.

130km to go

There is a 20km/h cross-head wind along the coast, will it be enough to shake up the race?

The crowds are huge as the Giro rides through Martina Franca. 

The race now turns left towards the Gulf of Taranto and will soon ride along the coast.   

Red Bull are lined out behind Mosca, keeping Roglic safe and staying safe as a team.  

As usual in this Giro, Jacopo Mosca is doing the early work for Lidl-Trek on the front.  

He will try to ensure that the break does not gain more than three minutes. 

140km to go

The trio push and have extended their gap up to 2:40.

Lidl-Trek is leading the peloton. 

The gap to the break is already up to 2:10. 

Indeed, Mads Pedersen is at the back of the peloton and other riders are taking natural breaks. 

The eaarly attack of the day has gone!

Lorenzo Milesi (Movistar) chased after them and so now we have three riders in the attack. 

The peloton seems to have let them go and closed down the road. 

On the straight road north out of Ceglie Messapica, the two riders have a gap. 

They are Giosuè Epis (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and ​​Davide Bais (Polti VisitMalta). 

Two riders are away and two riders have a gap. 

150km to go

There are immediate attacks as riders tryo to get in the early break.

Via! 

They're off! The stage is underway. 

There 180 riders in the peloton, with Søren Kragh Andersen the only non-starter. 

We can see the classic sights of southern Italy s the riders roll out of Ceglie Messapica. 

The buildings are white, the streets are packed with people enjoying the show. 

Viva il Giro!

The mayor of Ceglie Messapica waves hi flag and the riders roll out of Ceglie Messapica. 

They face a 8.2km neutralised sector before the 151km stage starts. For now the riders are relaxed, taking haribo or sweets from the race director's car. 

We will surely see a breakaway but probably other cake or even gelato stops during the stage. 

Mads Pedersen wears the race leader's pink jersey, teammate Mathias Vacek wers the best young rider's white jersey and Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS-Astana) wears the blue KOM jersey. 

Pedersen leads the points competition and so second-placed Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike) wears the cyclamen-coloured jersey.
 

The riders have all signed on and are lined-up ready for the ride out from Ceglie Messapica.  

Pedersen and Lidl-Trek moved on from any disappointment by announcing  some huge contract news.

'I'm staying with Lidl-Trek until my career is over' - Mads Pedersen commits long term to chase more Classics success

The "chaotic" Lecce circuit on stage 4 saw Lidl-Trek's run of success and good luck come to an end, with several incidents "destroying" Mads Pedersen's lead-out train for the sprint. Fortunately Pedersen key the maglia rosa.

James Moultrie got the reaction from the Dane and Lidl-Trek. 

'Damage control' for pink jersey as chaotic Giro d'Italia finish 'destroyed' Mads Pedersen's Lidl-Trek lead-out train

The riders are currently signing on in the centre of Ceglie Messapica.  

The sun is out at the start in Puglia and James Moultrie and Alasdair Fotheringham are at the start, gathering the latest news for Cyclnignews.

Picnic-PostNL pulled off a major coup on stage 4 to Lecce, controlling the bunch sprint on the technical finishing circuit and then delivering Casper Van Uden to victory.

The 23-year-old Dutchman beat Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike), Maikel Zijlaard (Tudor) and race leader Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) at the end of the 189-kilometre stage. 

Click below to read our full stage report, see the results and race photographs. 

Giro d'Italia: Casper van Uden claims stage 4 sprint victory as Mads Pedersen is delayed behind late-race crash

To read our stage preview, click below. Mads Pedersen and the sprinters could survive or the racing could explode. 

The stage is finely balanced and should be spectacular to watch.  

2025 Giro d'Italia stage 5 preview - A fast, punchy finish awaits in Matera

This is the stage profile. 

The middle part is very flat along the coast but the final 30km are rolling on country roads.

There are several climb but only one is categorised, the rest are unknown factors in the sprinters' fight for survival and a shot at victory. 

There are three intermediate sprints that should inspire some action, for the cyclamino points jersey and the bonus seconds. 

Sprint 1 - Massafra, km. 42.5

Sprint 2 - Marina di Ginosa, km. 76.8

The Red Bull Kilometre sprint - Bernalda, km. 100.4

This is the map of stage 5. 

The stage is relatively short at 151km but has some climbing, that could impact the finale.  

The stage should be more of a challenge for the sprinters and their teams than stage 4's flat run-in to Lecce 

Much of the stage is flat along the Gulf of Taranto, while the day's hills – classified or not – come in the final 30km of the 151km ride.

Buongiorno and welcome to Cyclingnews' live coverage of stage 5 of the Giro d'Italia.

Today the Corsa Rosa heads from Ceglie Messapica to the stunning historic town of Matera.