Canyon Eisberg dug deep to limit Max Stedman’s losses in a gruelling team time trial at the Tour of Britain on Thursday.
Tim Elverson’s squad clocked a time of 21min 20sec on the 14km course which finished on the climb of Whinlatter Pass in the Lake District.
That was good enough for 16th spot as Team LottoNL-Jumbo fired Primož Roglič into the leaders jersey with a winning time of 19.37.
Roglič, who sat eighth after stage four, heads Quick-Step Floors pair Julian Alaphilippe and Bob Jungels by six and 16 seconds respectively.
Meanwhile, Stedman is now 2.20 adrift of the Slovenian leader on the general classification in 23rd position.
Having started the day in 18th, he will look forward to making gains when he returns to Whinlatter Pass for the stage six summit finish on Friday.
BMC’s Patrick Bevin arrived at Cockermouth on Thursday with the leader’s jersey but as his team-mate Stefan Küng suffered on the climb, so his overall hopes faded.
Stedman and his Canyon Eisberg team-mates Ryan Christensen, Dexter Gardias, Rory Townsend, Andrew Tennant and Alex Paton briefly led the timesheets during the early skirmishes.
They bettered the efforts of JLT Condor, Madison Genesis, Bardiani CSF and Word Tour outfit Education First-Drapac – with the time taken on the fourth rider across the line.
But when Team Sky soared to a time of 20.03, so the competition cranked up a gear as some of the world’s top testers flexed their muscles.
Multiple British champion Alex Dowsett and four-time world champion Tony Martin propelled Team Katusha-ALPECIN home in 19.57.
Quick-Step Floors then rode into the hotseat as they stopped the clock in 19.53 after Alaphilippe had rescued Max Richeze late on.
However, LottoNL-Jumbo were a class apart. They powered to a 16-second triumph and finished with five men still together.
Friday’s 168.3km sixth stage rolls out of Barrow-in-Furness at 11am and features four category one climbs.
The peloton will take in two ascents of Whinlatter Pass, with the second a mouthwatering summit finish.
Click here for the full result of stage five. Highlights of the team time trial will be screened on ITV4 at 8pm.