Ryan Gibbons puts up another fight in Italy

South African rider Ryan Gibbons was back in the hunt on Wednesday, as the sprinters returned to the front of the peloton, earning his third top-10 finish of the race on the fifth stage of the Giro d’Italia.

After finishing eighth and seventh on the opening two stages, Gibbons capitalised on Monday’s rest day and sat back on the first mountain stage on Tuesday, before launching another attack on his Grand Tour debut, again sticking with the bunch to the line.

He finished in seventh place, one spot behind Dimension Data teammate Kristian Sbaragli of Italy, with Colombian rider Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors) winning the 159km stage from Pedara to Messina.

Bob Jungels of Luxembourg, also riding for Quick-Step Floors, retained his overall lead in the general classification.

Eritrean Natnael Berhane was the leading rider in the local Dimension Data outfit, lying 28th overall, a little more than three minutes off the pace ahead of the 217km sixth stage on Thursday.

For more sport your way, follow The Citizen on Facebook and Twitter.