Cadel Evans again confirmed the general assessment that he is very much up for the challenge of contending for the win in this year's Giro d'Italia when he took an excellent second in today's fifth stage of the race. He produced a powerful sprint despite feeling a bit blocked in his legs due to the cold weather.

Cadel Evans of the BMC Racing Team finished runner-up to Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida) to earn a six-second time bonus and move into third overall Wednesday at the Giro d'Italia. Evans crossed the line one second behind Ulissi on the uphill finish in bright sunshine, a stark contrast to pouring rain just minutes earlier that led to several crashes, including one that held up BMC Racing Team's Samuel Sánchez, among others.

Evans is now 15 seconds off the lead of Michael Matthews (ORICA-GreenEDGE), who finished sixth to keep the maglia rosa.

"After days with rain and cold, my legs are not at their best," Evans said. "In the final I was a little blocked with one kilometer to go and without help. But I got back in front and into second place. In the end, l am happy about the result."

Sport Director Fabio Baldato said the BMC Racing Team worked hard to position Evans for the final, knowing the finish suited him.

"Our first goal was to keep Cadel in front and not lose time," Baldato said. "When the rain came with 20 kilometers to go, we knew we needed him to be in the front before the last downhill. The guys did a great job to be there. It was Cadel's type of finish and he did well."