Giro d'Italia, Arrieta takes a wrong turn and then wins the stage. Portuguese Eulálio in pink jersey

Perhaps one day, someone will tell, as in the glorious days of heroic cycling, about this incredible fifth stage of the Giro d'Italia, which was scourged by rain and wind and ended in Potenza with such a rocambolic finale that it just doesn't seem real. Or studied by some skilful scriptwriter who, after smoking a few too many joints, wanted to surprise us with special effects.

He certainly succeeded. For a change, as in an endless roundabout, the pink jersey has changed hands again. We have not had time to rejoice at the feat of Giulio Ciccone, who has been searching for the coveted jersey for years, when the Abruzzese rider immediately loses it to the Portuguese Afonso Eulalio, 24, the protagonist together with the Spaniard Arrieta of a very long escape, conceded by the big names due to the impending bad weather, and characterised by an epilogue as exciting as it is comical and surreal.

Things we humans have never seen, would say the replicant in Ridley Scott's unforgettable film Blade Runner. Just think that the good Eulalio, whose name was already a bit complicated, as well as winning the pink, was also about to win the stage, despite the falls, and the terrible slips, because the asphalt, due to the pouring rain, had become as slippery as a bar of soap.

Behind him, also reeling from crashes and the fear of making more, was the Spaniard Igor Arrieta, 23 years his junior because his father, Josè Luis, raced as a faithful domestique with the great Miguel Indurain.

Well, Arrieta Junior, in this kind of water park that the finale had become, not only falls again but even goes the wrong way by running into those adhesive tapes that act as a barrier to the route deviations. Anyone, out of exhaustion or doggedness, would have closed the barricades. Instead, the Spaniard does not give up: he somehow turns the handlebars, gets back on the right track and with the force of desperation overtakes Eulalio, arriving first at the finish line. A perfect finale, then: to Arrieta the stage, to Elulalio the pink jersey. Third, just to round off this somewhat crazy finale, is Uruguayan Guillermo Da Silva, the one who lost the pink jersey to Giulio Ciccone in Cosenza, this time arriving with the top group after more than seven minutes. Not at all cheerful, the Abruzzese. He probably would have liked to enjoy the pink jersey a few more days, perhaps until Blockhaus. However, if he really wanted to, he could have defended it with more conviction. Perhaps his team, Lidl-Trek, did not believe in it all the way. Or perhaps he had other strategies in mind. Evidently, the fact that an Italian is in the squad does not interest her. However, the other big names, Vingegaard, Pellizzari, also finished seven minutes behind.