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Giro d’Italia 2014: stage five – five observations

Diego Ulissi proves himself and Joaquim Rodriguez fires a warning shot

We already knew Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) would be targeting the summit finishes as he bid to make up for the time he lost in the team time trial.

And Purito ensured his bid to claw back valuable seconds started as early as the first uphill finish of the race, on the Viggiano. Katusha looked phenomenally strong as the final ascent began, placing four riders on the front and checking any attempted attacks.

Joaquim Rodriguez fired an early warning shot to his rivals with a late attack on the Viggiano (pic: Sirotti)

And it was little surprise to see Rodriguez bursting off the front as the summit approached, keen to bag any small time bonus which could ignite his GC charge.

A stunning effort from Michael Matthews (Orica-GreenEDGE) to bridge the gap and bring the group back together meant Rodriguez’s effort didn’t succeed on this occasion but the warning signs are there for his rivals – Rodriguez is hungry for big stage wins and time bonuses and his team are in great shape to support. If you weren’t already, expect big things to come from Purito.

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