Arrieta Pulls Off Miracle Win After Crashing Twice—Then Chases Down Rival Who Also Crashed.

In a rain-soaked, crash-marred Stage 5, Igor Arrieta somehow turned disaster into victory, while Afonso Eulalio grabbed the overall race lead.

You couldn't make this up.

With 13.5 kilometers to go, UAE Team Emirates' Igor Arrieta hit the deck hard on greasy, rain-drenched roads. His chances looked gone. Then, moments later, the solo leader he'd been chasing—Bahrain Victorious's Afonso Eulalio—also crashed. Somehow, Arrieta clawed his way back to Eulalio near the top of the Montagna Grande di Viggiano climb.

Then came another twist. Arrieta took a wrong turn. Eulalio sailed ahead, and victory seemed certain for the Portuguese rider.

But Arrieta had other plans.

On the finishing straight, the Spaniard refused to quit. Legs burning, body battered, he reeled Eulalio back in and pipped him in the final 100 meters. Both men had fallen on the slippery roads, but both stayed clear of the chasing pack—finishing about seven minutes ahead of the group containing pink jersey holder Giulio Ciccone.

“I don't really know what to say," an emotional Arrieta admitted afterward. "I'm really, really happy to achieve this victory, it means a lot for me. Because of the crash [on Stage 2] and all the teammates who went home.”

He added: “I didn't think it was lost. I needed to try until the end. I was completely empty in the last kilometers, but I knew Eulalio was the same. Both of us deserved the victory, but in the end I had it.”

This marks UAE Team Emirates' second straight win after a nightmare start to the Grand Tour—following Jhonatan Narvaez's Stage 4 victory. Just days earlier, the team lost Adam Yates, Jay Vine, and Marc Soler in a massive Stage 2 pileup.

Stage 5 Results

1. Igor Arrieta (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – 5:07:51

2. Afonso Eulalio (Bahrain Victorious) – +2 seconds

3. Thomas Silva (XDS Astana Team) – +51 seconds

Overall Standings

1. Afonso Eulalio (Bahrain Victorious) – 21:27:43

2. Igor Arrieta (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – +2:51

3. Christian Scaroni (XDS Astana Team) – +3:34