Egan Bernal seals Giro d’Italia after Filippo Ganna wins final day time trial in Milan – GETTY IMAGES
Egan Bernal wins 104th edition of the Giro d’Italia
Caruso is runner-up; Yates finishes third
Ganna wins final-day time trial in Milan
Simon Yates said he had “no regrets” as he finished the Giro d’Italia in third place on Sunday behind Colombian Egan Bernal and Italian Damiano Caruso. Yates’s comeback in the final week, when he took two big bites out of his deficit to Bernal thanks to solid performances on stage 17 last Wednesday and stage 19 on Friday, which the Bury rider won solo, had set up an intriguing final weekend.
But Yates ran out of steam on Saturday, failing to claw back any more time on the final mountain stage of the race. And the 28-year-old had no chance of overcoming his 3-23 deficit in yesterday’s last day 30km individual time trial in Milan.
Bernal’s final winning margin was 1-29 over Caruso [Bahrain-Victorious], with Yates 4-15 back. Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) won the final stage – the world champion’s fifth successive ITT victory at the Giro.
“I am proud of what I accomplished here,” Yates said afterward. “I have no regrets. Those guys showed day in, day out that they were better, so I can only be proud of what I did. “I had some minor problems at the start [of the race], but then I could show myself in the third week. But I also paid for my efforts yesterday.
“I did my best every day; the days in the cold, the body didn’t respond as well as I wanted it to, but that is one of those things; you have to deal with bad days and bad moments, and that is how you go on to win the race. Egan did that successfully on numerous days.”
Bernal’s victory was indeed deserved. The 24-year-old proved himself the best rider over the three weeks, remaining in the maglia rosa from stage nine until the end and winning two steps.
The Colombian’s second grand tour win, and Ineos’s 12th since their inaugural season as Sky Procycling in 2010, was not entirely without stress. There were concerns over a potential recurrence of the back issue that paid to his Tour de France defense last year in the final week.
“I can’t believe what’s happening,” Bernal said. “I have no words. I have no words to describe everything I feel. I have had two difficult years with some problems that I hope to have put behind me with this success. The Maglia Rosa is special, and the Giro is the most beautiful race in the world. In this race, I found the freedom to ride as I like; I will never forget these three weeks.”
03:13 pm
Ganna wins stage 21 at the Giro; Bernal seals pink
Filippo Ganna bookends the near-perfect race for Ineos Grenadiers with his second stage win of the Giro. At the same time, the Italian team-mate Egan Bernal secures the maglia rosa and Trofeo Senza Fine.
Rémi Cavagna (Deceuninck-Quick Step) finishes the 30.3km time trial in the second spot, 12.12 seconds slower than Ganna, who completed the race in 33min 48.60sec – at an average speed of 53.787km/h – while Edoardo Affini (Jumbo-Visma) is third at 12.61sec.
Bernal will be celebrating the longest and loudest after he becomes only the second Colombian to win the Giro, beating Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) by 1min 29sec. In comparison, Simon Yates (BikeExchange) secures third at 4min 15sec.
Speaking moments after sealing pink, Bernal said: “I can’t believe what’s happening; I have just won the Giro d’Italia; I have no words. I have had two difficult years with some problems that I hope to have put behind me with this success. I have no words to describe everything I feel. The maglia rosa is special, and the Giro is the most beautiful race in the world. In this race, I found the freedom to ride as I like; I will never forget these three weeks.”
An excellent performance from Joao Almeida (Deceuninck-Quick Step) today when he finished fifth, 27sec down on Ganna, propels the Portuguese up to sixth on the standings. Dani Martínez (Ineos Grenadiers) climbed to fifth ahead of Romain Bardet (DSM), who dropped two places to seventh. At the same time, Hugh Carthy (EF Education-Nippo) slips a single spot to eighth on genthe general classification.
Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) secures the points classification. And Geoffrey Bouchard (Ag2r-Citroën) confirms the maglia Azzurra, the second mountains classification jersey of his career after also topping the standings at 2019 Vuelta an España. In addition to taking home the pink jersey, Bernal also brings the maglia Bianca, or the white jersey, as the best young rider.
03:10 pm
Caruso secures runners-up spot . . .
. . . and don’t the Italians love it! Amazing story.
03:09 pm
Yates secures third at the Giro
Bravo. An excellent result from Simon Yates, who won a memorable stage on Friday but could not match Damiano Caruso or Egan Bernal, who is just minutes away from winning the pink jersey.
03:08 pm
Yates is closing in on the podium.
Simon Yates will finish third at the Giro d’Italia, a good result for Bury’s BikeExchange rider.
03:03 pm
Bernal is closing in on the Giro
Egan Bernal trails Damiano Caruso – who is gaining time on Simon Yates –but there will be no changes in the top three after a disaster. Around 10 minutes until Colombia can make the news for all the right reasons. I’m sure this win will give his fellow citizens hope in these difficult times back home.
03:00 pm
Martínez seals the fifth spot
Dani Martínez completes his Giro with an impressive time trial, finishing 14th fastest of the current finishers, which sees him climb above Romain Bardet to fifth on the general classification. That is not bad when you consider he has been riding in support of Egan Bernal.
02:53 pm
Almeida’s stock is rising high.
Wow. Joao Almeida (Deceuninck-Quick Step) sets the fifth-fastest time on the day (+26.91sec). The Portuguese are the real deal, and I think that will see him leapfrog Hugh Carthy on general classification.
02:50 pm
Bernal is losing time to Caruso . . .
. . . but there’s no need to panic. The Colombian was 9sec slower than the Italian at the first time split, but he carried a 1min 59sec lead into this trial.
02:48 pm
Caruso flying
Damiano Caruso is flying here and has put over 20 seconds into Simon Yates, but I can’t see any changes in the top three on general classification today. There is no time splits between Bernal just yet.
02:39 pm
Martínez marched toward the top five.
Dani Martínez has leapfrogged Romain Bardet in the virtual standings; the Colombian is up to fifth. But all eyes are now on Martínez’s team-mate and fellow countryman as he gets his time trial underway, resplendent in his pink skinsuit – thankfully with black shorts – pink socks, and a pink Kask helmet.
02:36 pm
The final countdown
Simon Yates is out on the road, Damiano Carsuo rolls down the ramp, and Egan Bernal whacks an energy gel down his neck in preparation for one last, brief effort before he becomes the only second Colombian to take home the maglia rosa.
02:32 pm
Yates is out on the road . . .
. . . and is now around half-an-hour away from sealing third place.
02:31 pm
Yates looks relaxed
Simon Yates smiles in the starting house as the Briton prepares for his final day of racing at the Giro d’Italia, where he is poised to take the third spot on general classification.
02:27 pm
Martinez’s eyes top-five finish.
Dani Martinez rolls down the ramp. The Colombian national time trial champion starts the day just 8sec shy of Romain Bardet in the fifth spot on the general classification. It would help if you backed the Ineos Grenadiers rider to overhaul the Frenchman.
02:20 pm
Eighth Wonder
He’s ridden a brilliant Giro d’Italia in support of Egan Bernal, and Gianni Moscon has just set to the eighth fastest time in this time trial, 44.36sec slower than team-mate Filippo Ganna who is on the verge of winning his second stage at this year’s race – and fifth of his career.
02:15 pm
Bettiol bows out
Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-Nippo), a stage winner earlier this week, completes his Giro in impressive style – and I’m not talking about his black shoes-white socks combination – with the sixth-fastest time of the day (+34.04sec).
02:13 pm
Hitters coming home
Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious), Koen Bouwman (Jumbo-Visma), George Bennett (Jumbo-Visma), and Dan Martin (ISN) are all out on the course, with Tobias Foss (Jumbo-Visma), Joao Almeida (Deceuninck-Quick Step), Hugh Carthy (EF Education-Nippo) and Dani Martinez (Ineos Grenadiers) due to following. The top five riders on the general classification will set off at 3.25 pm with Romain Bardet (DSM), then at three-minute intervals, Aleksandr Vlasov (Astana-Premier Tech), Simon Yates (BikeExchange), Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious), and Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers).02:08 pm.
Up for grabs
Other than the maglia rosa, Egan Bernal will be taking home the Trofeo Senza Fine – the perpetual trophy – should he complete today’s time trial at least 1min 59sec faster than Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious). Caruso was faster than Bernal in the one-time stage trial three weeks ago yesterday, but I don’t think he can hope to be much more than 30sec quicker over this course in Milan.
m
Counting down to the pink
Lorenzo Fortunato (Eolo-Kometa), the rider that won the Monte Zoncolan stage, has his final race underway, and we are getting towards the big general classification names now. I don’t think anybody seriously thinks there will be any significant changes today. Still, we have already seen a few spills and thrills, so nobody will want to take any unnecessary risks.01:49 pm
Bouchard is the king of the hill.
Geoffrey Bouchard (Ag2r-Citroën) completes his race to secure the maglia Azzurra, the second mountains classification jersey of his career, after topping the standings at 2019 Vuelta an España.01:47 pm.
Heavy traffic
Matteo Sobrero (Astana-Premier Tech) sets the fourth-fastest time of the day (+13.86sec), but the Italian neo-pro was delayed by a Groupama-FDJ team car. The vehicle did not pull aside to allow the rider to pull through, resulting in Sobrero losing his temper and giving the vehicle a bang. That may have cost him a third spot, currently held by Edoardo Affini, who he trails by just 1.7sec.01:40 pm.
Cavagna clocks off
Poor old Rémi Cavagna. Not too sure if he sustained any severe injuries in that crash, but the Frenchman is stretching out his back at the finishing line. Hopefully, it is a case of damaged pride rather than broken bones. Either way, the Deceuninck-Quick Step rider limps out of his second Giro d’Italia, a little battered and bruised.01:34 pm
Cavagna is derailed
Rémi Cavagna, his five-minute man, catches Briton Mark Christian (Eolo-Kometa) before disaster strikes. The Frenchman appears to lock up his rear wheel on a slight chicane and flies into the barriers without changing direction. That’s his time trial done. Heartbreaking stuff. In the end, he sets the second-fastest time of the day.01:29 pm
Mind the gap
Rémi Cavagna close in on the rider ahead of him – Filippo Zana (Bardiani-CSF-Faizane) – as he powers towards the finishing line, but can the Frenchman rein in Filippo Ganna? It could be a close cut.01:24 pm
Cavagna is second best… as it stands.
Rémi Cavagna loses a further five seconds to stage leader Filippo Ganna, arriving at the second time split 18.35sec slower than the world time trial champion. However, the Frenchman is going slightly faster than Edoardo Affini at the same point and is second overall.01:12 pmm
Delayed service from the TGV
Rémi Cavagna has given himself a lot of work to do to win the first stage for Deceuninck-Quick Step at this year’s Giro d’Italia. The Frenchman trails Filippo Ganna by 13.29sec at the first time split.
Full steam ahead for Cavagna
Rémi Cavagna (Deceuninck-Quick Step), the French time trial champion, is on the course for his final day of racing at the Giro. The rider, nicknamed the ‘TGV,’ will be hoping to set a decent time and may have been buoyed by the fact that Filippo Ganna will have lost a few, potentially crucial, seconds due to that bike change.12:52 pmm
Sagan completes his Giro
Peter Sagan waves to the fans and cameras as he completes his second successive Giro d’Italia to secure the maglia calamine, cyclamen jersey, winner of the points classification.
Affini is second best.
Edoardo Affini completes his Giro d’Italia, finishing the final stage 12.61sec slower than Filippo Ganna in second place.12:43 pmm
Ganna in pole position
The world-time trial champion was forced into taking a bike change during his trial but still set the fastest time of the day – 33min 48.60sec (53.787kh/h). Max Walscheid, who had barely had time to take his place in the hot seat, smiles at the cameras and applauds the beast, Filippo Ganna.
Bike change for Ganna!
This a worrying moment for Filippo Ganna, who is forced into taking a quick bike change. It looks as if he had a puncture in his rear wheel.
12:40 PM
Ganna is motoring
Max Walscheid sets the new fastest time of 34min 21.78sec, but Filippo Ganna is motoring towards the finishing line. As I type, the Italian has already caught four riders that started ahead of him and are flying along at 58km/h.12:33 pmm
Ganna riding aggressively
Filippo Ganna leads by over 30 seconds at the second time check. He’s taking plenty of risks, too, throwing himself into the corners with gusto, swinging to avoid a drain cover, but somehow sustaining a fierce tempo – 53.932km/h.12:26 pmm
Ganna into the box seat
Filippo Ganna is fastest at the first intermediate split – 10min 18.64sec – and he’s motoring along, sweeping past those who set off before him. Max Walscheid was the second fastest (+11.94sec), while Edoardo Affini was the third-fastest 15.72sec down on Ganna.12:21 pmm
Smooth operator
An aerial shot shows Edoardo Affini pushing on, and it must be said he’s looking pretty smooth. There are two-time checks during today’s stage, so we should soon be able to draw a comparison between Filippo Ganna and Affini.12:18 pmm
A certain ratio
Filippo Ganna is pushing massive gear for those interested in these things today. A 58-tooth chainring on the front, and he’s twiddling away on it as if spinning on a compact. Impressive.12:14 pmm
Affini rolls down the ramp.
Can Edoardo Affini, another Italian strong in this discipline, be on the road? Filippo Ganna, by the way, has a perfect position and is riding at a high cadence, but his body barely moves side-to-side. Absolute perfection.12:09 pmm
Ganna sets off!
Here we go. The world-time trial champion and one of the most demanding working riders at this year’s Giro is on the road. The crowds are out in significant numbers in Milan and are, understandably, cheering on the Italians. This course is perfect for Filippo Ganna, who also won the opening stage at this year’s race. The only question mark over Ganna would be that he has worked tirelessly on the front on behalf of team-mate Egan Bernal. In contrast, Edoardo Affini (Jumbo-Visma) may have had an easier three weeks enabling him to save a little back for today.
12:05 PM
Bodnar catches Richeze
Maciej Bodnar is not hanging around, the Pole catching his minute-man Max Richeze a short while ago. The Bora-Hansgrohe rider is looking good with a back almost as pan-flat as today’s course. Noon pmm
As it stands . . .
The first 16 riders have their races underway. So the Riccardo above Minali, Matteo Moschetti (Trek-Segafredo), Attilio Viviani (Cofidis), Alexander Krieger (Alpecin-Fenix), Albert Torres (Movistar), Umberto Marengo (Bardiani CSF Faizane), Maximiliano Richeze (UAE Team Emirates), Maciej Bodnar (Bora-Hansgrohe), Elia Viviani (Cofidis), Koen de Kort (Trek-Segafredo), Lukasz Wisniowski (Qhubeka-Assos), Fabio Sabatini (Cofidis), Nicola Venchiarutti (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec), Matthias Brändle (ISN), Samuele Rivi (Eolo-Kometa) and Max Walscheid (Qhubeka-Assos) are all out on the road.
Of that group, Bodnar is a bit of a dark horse for the stage win. The Pole won the penultimate daytime trial at the 2017 Tour de France and proved he could make it through three weeks working for others and still keep enough in the tank to take a solo win. Another that will be hoping to post a decent time is Brändle, the former world hour record holder. But the big, big favorites today are Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers), the world-time trial champion, and Edoardo Affini (Jumbo-Visma), both of whom will roll down the starting ramp within the next 11 minutes.09:00 am
As you can see from the below profile, the final stage of the Giro d’Italia could not be more different from the last two days – it is pan-flat with just 100 meters in vertical gain.
Traditionally, riders will roll down the starting ramp in reverse order of the general classification. Each will set off a minute after the previous, though once we reach the top 15 on general category, they will begin to be three minutes apart. So Riccardo Minali (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux), who sits five hours 34 minutes and three seconds behind Egan Bernal in the 143rd spot, sets off at 12.45 pmpm (BST). At the same time, the maglia rosa will be the last rider to start his race at a3.37 pm.
Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers), the world-time trial champion, starts at 1.08 pm8 pm, three minutes ahead of Edoardo Affini (Jumbo-Visma), another Italian who is tipped to win today’s stage.
Here’s what the roadbook says about the course: “The start of the individual time trial is set in the center of Senago. The stage is played on wide, mostly straight roads near Sesto San Giovanni. From here on, the course runs almost straight up to 2km from the finish in Piazza Duomo. Tramway tracks, roundabouts, and street furniture are found repeatedly along the route.
“In the stage finale, the route runs on wide avenues, then on narrowed roads over the last few hundred meters, with several consecutive 90-degree turns in the last 100-150 meters, before entering Piazza Duomo. The home straight (250m) is on a 6 m wide stone-paved roa08:41 am1 am.
Catch up: Highlights from Saturday’s st08:40 am0 am
Ciao!
Hello and welcome to our live rolling blog from stage 21 at the Giro d’Italia, the 30.3km individual time trial from Senago to Milan. Before we briefly look at what lies in store in today’s stage, the final day of the 104th edition of the season’s first grand tour, let’s recap who leads the four main classifications, awarded jerseys.
Having survived his final test in the high mountains, Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) will wear the maglia rosa, or leader’s pink jersey – or most likely a pink skinsuit, for a 12th successive day and will, barring disaster, be packing that into his suitcase once racing concludes, later on, this afternoon.
Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) all but secured the maglia calamine, the cyclamen jersey, at the first intermediate sprint in yesterday’s stage and will, barring his failure to finish today’s time trial within the time cut, secure the first Giro d’Italia points jersey of his career.
All Geoffrey Bouchard (Ag2r-Citroën) needs to do is finish today within the time cut to secure the maglia Azzurra blue jersey, which will be the second mountains classification jersey career after topping the standings at the 2019 Vuelta an España.
Alexandr Vlasov (Astana-Premier Tech) will again wear the maglia Bianca, or the white jersey, on behalf of the maglia rosa Bernal, though it will be the new Giro champion will pack that away in his suitcase alongside his maglia rosa and the Trofeo Senza Fine.
