GiroDonne, Stage 5

Noemi Cantele (Bigla) took the fifth stage of the Giro Donne on the demanding uphill, cobbled 16% finish in Cerro al Volturno. She powered away from five riders who were her companions in a breakaway which escaped the field on the day's big climb with 30km to go. The group included powerhouse sprinters Ina Teutenberg, the winner of stage four, and Giorgia Bronzini (Safi-Pasta) along with Cantele's teammate Jennifer Hohl, Julia Martisova (Gauss RDZ Ormu) and Sigrid Corneo (Selle Italia).

The breakaway arrived at the final climb in Cerro al Volturno with a one minute lead. Cantele said she had been warned about the difficulty of the final climb by her masseuse. "I was warned that it was harder than I could imagine. I attacked at the start of the cobbles and by the end I was zigzagging. I didn't have anymore to give." Bronzini added, "The last climb was extremely hard. We all came to an almost complete stop before the finish line, only Cantele could continue on. Brava!".

Cervelo's Emma Pooley finished near the front of the peloton, which was led home by Columbia-HTC's Judith Arndt, to maintain her lead in the overall standings. "Today, a breakaway of 6 riders reached the finish, but our team was in control of the race and did not allow the time gap to go over 2 minutes,” said Cervelo Test Team Sports Director Manel Lacambra. “Our goal was not to take the stage win but to defend the maglia rosa, which worked very well. On the cobbles on the final climb we gained some seconds on Mara Abbot which moved Claudia into second in the GC. Tomorrow is another tough stage with two challenging mountains. Our strategy again will be to defend the maglia rosa.”

Amerian Amber Neben, who held the pink jersey after the time trial, crashed out of the race while sitting in fifth place in the GC. Neben hit a rock and flew over the handlebars and was bruised and scraped up, but later examinations at the hospital revealed no serious injuries.

In the jersey classifications Judith Arndt took over the green jersey.

Stage 5 top 10 results:
1 Noemi Cantele (Ita) Bigla Cycling Team 3:28:31
2 Giorgia Bronzini (Ita) Safi - Pasta Zara Titanedi 0:00:06
3 Ina Yoko Teutenberg (Ger) Team Columbia HTC Women 0:00:09
4 Sigrid Corneo (Slo) Selle Italia Ghezzi 0:00:14
5 Julia Martisova (Rus) Gauss RDZ Ormu - Colnago 0:00:20
6 Jennifer Hohl (Swi) Bigla Cycling Team 0:01:02
7 Judith Arndt (Ger) Team Columbia HTC Women 0:01:14
8 Claudia Hausler (Ger) Cervelo TestTeam
9 Emma Pooley (GBr) Cervelo TestTeam
10 Svetlana Bubnenkova (Rus) Fenixs Edilsavino 0:01:22

Top 10 GC:
1 Emma Pooley (GBr) Cervelo TestTeam 12:23:18
2 Claudia Hausler (Ger) Cervelo TestTeam 0:01:11
3 Judith Arndt (Ger) Team Columbia HTC Women 0:01:27
4 Mara Abbott (USA) Team Columbia HTC Women 0:01:29

5 Svetlana Bubnenkova (Rus) Fenixs Edilsavino 0:01:46
6 Edita Pucinskaite (Ltu) Gauss RDZ Ormu - Colnago 0:02:27
7 Carla Ryan (Aus) Cervelo TestTeam 0:03:26
8 Nicole Brandli (Swi) Bigla Cycling Team 0:03:39
9 Fabiana Luperini (Ita) Selle Italia Ghezzi 0:04:32
10 Tatiana Guderzo (Ita) S.C. Michela Fanini Record Rox 0:05:08

Jersey classification:

Pink: Emma Pooley (Cervelo Test Team)

Cyclamen: Judith Arndt (Team Columbia HTC)

Green: Mara Abbott (Team Columbia HTC)

White: Elizabeth Armitstead (Lotto Betisol Ladies Team)

Photos: Cerro al Volturno; stage profile; Noemi Cantele; Pooley, Arndt, Abbot and Armistead on the podium

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