Messina (dpa) – One day after his coup on Mount Etna, Lennard Kämna easily defended his mountain jersey and second place in the overall ranking of the 105th Giro d’Italia.
When the Frenchman Arnaud Démare won the stage in a mass sprint, the German cycling hope reached the finish with the peloton. The pink jersey for the overall first is still worn by the Spaniard Juan Pedro Lopez, who had arrived on the volcano together with Kämna the day before as a breakaway.
“I noticed my legs from yesterday, I was at the limit, especially when accelerating. That’s why I was very happy that it wasn’t too hard,” said Kämna.
After the climb up Mount Etna, the sprinters got their chance again on the fifth stage over 174 kilometers from Catania to Messina, the hometown of ex-Giro winner Vincenzo Nibali. Démare celebrated his sixth victory of the day in the Tour of Italy. The Colombian Fernando Gaviria and Giacomo Nizzolo from Italy followed on the places. The German sprinter Phil Bauhaus took a good sixth place.
The Giro continues on Thursday with the sixth stage over 192 kilometers from Palmi to Scalea. Except for a mountain in the fourth category, there are no major climbs to be mastered. This means that Kämna will definitely keep his blue jersey until Friday. “There are still many opportunities in the next few weeks. I’ll take it from day to day. Maybe I’ll go on the jersey, maybe not,” said Kämna. The Giro ends on May 29 in Verona.