In the fifth stage of the Italian stage race the riders were presented with a flat course. A bunch sprint seemed the most obvious scenario, but at about 50 kilometers from the finish the peloton broke into several pieces. Vos and Reijnhout were alert and were part of a twenty-rider leading group that could fight for the victory.

After Reijnhout completed her work, Vos chose Wiebes' wheel in the final kilometer. Vos made a fierce effort to beat her compatriot, but had to settle for second place on the line. "I was well positioned, but Lorena proved too fast. Second place was the highest possible," Vos said.

The three-time Giro winner says she was happy with her teammates. "At 55 kilometers there was a crash I was involved in. The team brought me back and right after that UAE pulled through on a dike. We rode away with a group of 20 riders and Rosita and I were with them. Rosita rode strong and supported me well towards the final."

"It was a very hectic day", sports director Jan Boven said. "We knew there was a dike coming up, but there wasn't much wind. Eventually the peloton broke because there was very hard riding. Rosita and Marianne were at the front and from then on it was riding along, saving energy and coming up with a plan to beat Lorena. That didn't work out unfortunately."

Over the next three days, the peloton heads back into the mountains. "Saturday's stage will be very difficult, but Friday and Sunday we hope to have another chance."