The 2021 Giro d’Italia is still young and the legs are still fresh, and the only thing that could possibly prevent a bunch sprint is the weather. The riders are traversing the Po Plains towards the Adriatic Sea on exposed roads, so strong winds and echelons could rip the peloton apart. The route runs along the Adriatic coast in the last 25 kilometres.
That said, a bunch sprint is the most likely scenario. By far.
Gaviria, Ewan and Viviani are the sprinters with the best Giro palmares. The Colombian took part three times and won five sprints (one in 2019, four in 2017), the Australian took part three times and won three sprints (two in 2019, one in 2017), while the Italian lined-up seven times to win five stages (four in 2018, one in 2015).
Despite being only 26 year of age, the best days Fernando Gaviria seem to be behind him. He did not win any sprint in 2021. Elia Viviani spend his glory days at Deceuninck-QuickStep and he did not win any race after the left the Belgian squad – that is, until taking a win at the Cholet-Pays de la Loire last March, which ended an 18-month winless streak
Caleb Ewan also won only one stage this season, but it was an important one. At the UAE Tour he bested Sam Bennett, arguably the fastest sprinter at the moment. Furthermore, 2020 was a successful year for the Australian, who powered to two stage wins on the Tour de France.
The start list of the Giro is not yet confirmed, so we’ll update this article later.
Favourites 5th stage 2021 Giro d’Italia
*** Caleb Ewan, Tim Merlier
** David Dekker, Elia Viviani, Giacomo Nizzolo
* Fernando Gaviria, Matteo Moschetti, Jakub Mareczko
Another interesting read: route stage 5 Giro d’Italia 2021.