POTENZA, Italy - Portugal's Afonso Eulalio grabbed the overall lead in the Giro d'Italia on Wednesday despite losing stage five in a rain-soaked, chaotic sprint finish. Spaniard Igor Arrieta snatched victory in the final meters after both riders crashed on the approach to Potenza.
Arrieta, who took a wrong turn near the summit, recovered to power past Eulalio on the uphill finish for his first Grand Tour stage win. Eulalio, who had looked in control, slid to the tarmac with about 7 kilometers remaining, allowing Arrieta to close the gap.
Italian Giulio Ciccone, who started the day in the pink jersey, finished seven minutes back and dropped to sixth overall. Eulalio now leads the general classification by 2 minutes 51 seconds over Arrieta, with Christian Scaroni third, 3:34 off the pace.
Thursday's sixth stage is a 142-kilometer ride from Paestum to Napoli, passing near Mount Vesuvius.