Sagan wins first Giro d’Italia sprint stage of his career
Bora-Hansgrohe rider now leads the points classification
Bernal finishes safely to retain the leader’s pink jersey
Evenepoel gains 1sec on general classification
Peter Sagan delivered a hard-fought victory for Bora-Hansgrohe on stage 10 of the Giro d’Italia as Egan Bernal retained the pink jersey in Foligno. After Sagan’s teammates rode hard on the front for much of the 139km stage from L’Aquila to drop several sprint rivals, the three-time former world champion made it pay as he held off Fernando Gaviria and Davide Cimolai to claim his second career Giro stage win.
They came across the line in a much-reduced sprint well ahead of the main favorites after a late crash for Max Kanter split the group, but with the incident inside the last three kilometers, no time gaps were awarded. That meant Ineos Grenadiers’ Bernal stayed out in front. However, his advantage was trimmed by one second to 14 after Deceuninck-Quick Step’s Remco Evenepoel pipped him for time bonuses at the second intermediate sprint.
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EF Education-Nippo’s Hugh Carthy remains sixth, 45 seconds down, with fellow Lancastrian Simon Yates of BikeExchange in ninth, 11 seconds back. A sprint finish was always expected on the final stage before the first rest day, a predominantly downhill run away from the Apennine mountains, but Bora used the climbs in the second half of the day to set up the win.
One by one, Dylan Groenewegen, Tim Merlier, and Giacomo Nizzolo left the peloton. However, Gaviria, Cimolai, and Elia Viviani stuck around to ensure Sagan still had work to do at the end. “I have to thank all my teammates,” Sagan said. “They did an impressive job; it was full gas for the last time climbs, and we dropped some sprinters. It was not enough to drop everyone, but in the end, I won, and I’m thrilled, so thanks to all my teammates.”
Sagan’s first sprint win in the Giro after he took his first stage with a solo effort last year – also on stage 10 – and the Slovakian moved past Merlier to top the points classification following the withdrawal on Saturday Caleb Ewan. Bora’s pace put the pain on everyone, not least the general classification riders hoping for a more leisurely day after Sunday’s dramatic finish on the gravel climb at Rocca di Cambio.
“It was really hard,” Bernal said. “Bora, I think they did a great job in the climbs; it was a really hard pace. I think everyone was full of gas. It was harder than we expected in the morning, but finally, we saved the day, so we are happy because of that.” PA003:07 pm
Sagan wins stage 10 at the Giro!
He’s done it! The three-time world champion has won his first-ever sprint finish at the Giro d’Italia, timing his move to perfection. After his Bora-Hansgrohe team had worked tirelessly to blow the field apart, Peter Sagan sat patiently on the front before chasing down Juan Sebastián Molano (UAE Team Emirates) in the home straight. Flying beyond the Colombian, Sagan crossed the line with his arms aloft, celebrating Molano’s ream-mate Fernando Gaviria, while the Italian sprinter Davide Cimolai took third.
Speaking afterward, Sagan said, a perfect day for us. We tried our best. A big thank you to my Bora-Hansgrohe teammates. They did a great job of dropping some sprinters on the last climb. Not all of them were dropped, so I still had to beat top sprinters like Gaviria and [Elia] Viviani. In the end, I won, and I’m pleased about that. I also needed some luck that I didn’t get in previous sprint stages.”
That result propels Sagan into the points jersey, while Gaviria moved up to second in the points classification ahead of Davide Cimolai. Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) lost one second to Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck-Quick Step) in the general category. Still, the Colombian keeps hold of the maglia rosa and takes a 14sec lead over the Belgian into Tuesday’s rest day. Alexandr Vlasov (Astana-Premier Tech) is third, another 8sec down, the Russian losing 1sec on the pair who battled for bonus seconds at the second intermediate sprint, with Evenepoel taking 2sec, Bernal 1sec.
Race leader Bernal admitted he had not intended to challenge for the bonus seconds at the intermediate sprint but took the opportunity to race once he had seen Deceuninck-Quick Step make their move. “I just saw the opportunity to go behind Remco,” Bernal said. “I took only one second, but it didn’t take me any effort. We’re also here to enjoy the race, which was a nice way to do so. It was a harder stage than we thought it would be this morning. Bora did a great job. Tomorrow I’ll train during the rest day, and I’ll prepare for the critical stage coming up on Wednesday.”
1.5km to go
All of the big-name sprinters are still in here.003:06 pm
2km to go
Onto a tree-lined road, plenty of shadows, but Bora is still in the front.003:05 pm
2.5km to go
Calm (of sorts) before the storm.003:04 pm
2.8km to go
Dutchman Jos van Emden (Jumbo-Visma) goes off on a flier, but it is short-lived.003:04 pm
3km to go
And the race is into the final three kilometers, so the general classification contenders can allow themselves a sigh of relief.003:02 pm
5km to go
Peter Sagan, Fernando Gaviria, Elia Viviani, Davide Cimolai, and Matteo Moschetti (Trek-Segafredo) are all well-positioned, up near the front of the bunch, but who will be raising their arms in celebration?003:00 pm
The finale to today’s stage . . .
As you can see, there are some tricky turns in the final two kilometers.
8km to go
Plenty of jockeying for positions in the bunch. A nervous time for all.002:57 pm
10km to go
The peloton is strung out in a lone line, and Simon Yates (BikeExchange) is near the back. By contrast, Bora-Hansgrohe is at the pointy end and is looking to take their man Peter Sagan to the line.002:55 pm
11km to go
The pace is winding up in the run-in to Foligno, where there are a few twists and turns. The general classification contenders will be on full alert; nobody wants to crash before tomorrow’s rest day.002:53 pm
13km to go
Bora-Hansgrohe are all back together on the front of the bunch, Fernando Gaviria tucked in behind, as is Davide Cimolai.002:51 pm
17.8km to go
Wow, that was one almighty battle between Remco Evenepoel and Egan Bernal. Evenepoel’s Deceuninck-Quick Step team made the first move, shifting towards the front, but Ineos Grenadiers were wise to the action and countered. Bernal opened his sprint from some distance out but was caught and beaten by a few lengths by the young Belgian. Unfortunately for Evenepoel, however, he was then outsprinted at last by Bernal’s teammate Jhonatan Narváez who took the 3sec time bonus. In the end, Evenepoel closed the gap on Bernal by 1sec after taking second at the intermediate sprint, while Bernal was third over the line. That was a proper battle; great to see.002:45 pm
20km to go
The intermediate sprint is incoming, and this is the one where there are bonus seconds up for grabs. Incidentally, Elia Viviani, Fernando Gaviria, and Davide Cimolai are in this leading group.002:41 pm
25km to go
Game over for Giacomo Nizzolo. On the front, Davide Cimolai’s team is now riding on the show pretty hard. Could the Italian sprinter be the chief beneficiary of that earlier effort from Bora-Hansgrohe, or can Peter Sagan finish the job and add another Giro stage win to the one he claimed in the rain last year?002:38 pm
26.5km to go
Giacomo Nizzolo is trailing the speeding peloton by 26sec. I cannot see them closing this gap. Further back, Tim Merlier is over two minutes down on the Bora-Hansgrohe-powered peloton.002:35 pm
30km to go
Giacomo Nizzolo is chasing back on and has Qhubeka-Assos teammate Victor Campenaerts, the world hour record holder, helping out; the pair are taking turns, so even if the Italian does manage to get back on, he will have burnt a few matches more than he will have wanted.002:32 pm
33km to go
Onto the descent, and Bora-Hansgrohe continued to drill it on the front. Davide Cimolai, meanwhile, has an ISN teammate or two helping out. The Italian sprinter has been there or thereabouts at this year’s race, twice finishing as runner-up (stage three and seven), and will be fancying his chances of upgrading to the top spot here today. at 002:27 pm
38km to go
Bora-Hansgrohe has blown this stage apart, but Peter Sagan has just two teammates for the company – Emanuel Buchmann and Daniel Oss – as they go into a tunnel atop the summit of this category-four climb. Have they used up too many foot soldiers on that climb?002:24 pm
40km to go
Giacomo Nizzolo is also struggling with the pace being set by Bora-Hansgrohe, but Fernando Gaviria is hanging in there. The Colombian can ordinarily get over these little climbs, okay.002:21 pm
41.5km to go
Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix) is struggling off the back, while David Dekker has now been dropped, so not a great day for Jumbo-Visma. Elia Viviani, the Italian sprinter, is also near the rear of the bunch.002:18 pm
43km to go
The breakaway has been caught, and Bora-Hansgrohe is gunning it up the Valico della Somma, the only categorized climb in today’s stage, which is relatively short and not too steep. However, if ridden hard, the sprinters may struggle and lose contact here – precisely the tactic Bora-Hansgrohe attempts to employ.002:14 pm
45km to go
The breakaway’s advantage is almost gone; they are hanging on by just 14sec.002:08 pm
50km to go
Dylan Groenewegen is dropped, and the day’s only categorized climb is yet to come. Can the Dutchman haul himself over this slight rise and the more significant upgrade that follows shortly after and manage to get back on once over the other side, or is the Jumbo-Visma rider’s day over? One suspects the latter, given that the Dutchman is likely not back to his best following his nine-month lay-off.
51km to go
The breakaway drops Umberto Marengo (Bardiani-CSF-Faizane). Bora-Hansgrohe continues to ride hard on the front, and, as a result, Dylan Groenewegen appears to be laboring towards the rear of the peloton. We have seen this tactic from Peter Sagan’s team time and again over the last 12 months, but is it going to pay off today?002:03 pm
53km to go
Italian climber Matteo Fabbro rides hard on the front of the bunch. Bora-Hansgrohe has a plan that appears to involve riding these small rises as hard as possible with the intention of shelling any sprint rivals of Peter Sagan. As a result of this injection in pace, the breakaway’s lead has plummeted to just over one minute.002:00 pm
55km to go
Bora-Hansgrohe moves to the front on a small ride, increasing the pace in the bunch as they, perhaps, attempt to pressure the sprinters’ teams.001:53 pm
60km to go
One rider that will be desperate to win today is Giacomo Nizzolo, the Italian and European champion, who has yet to add a Giro d’Italia stage to his palmarès. The Qhubeka-Assos holds the record that nobody wants, having finished as runner-up more than any other rider who has yet to win a stage. The Italian has been runner-up twice in today’s finishing town of Foligno– to Nacer Bouhanni in 2014 and André Greipel in 2016.
The breakaway, meanwhile, leads by 1min 38sec.001:45 pm
65km to go
Natnael Berhane is sat at the front of the peloton, setting the pace as the main bunch containing all of the sprinters and general classification riders, trials the breakaway by 2min 12sec.
73.5km to go
The breakaway has gained a handful of seconds following that unfortunate delay. Still, I would wager that that quintet will get caught today ahead of the widely expected bunch gallop.001:17 pm
85km to go
The breakaway was delayed at a train crossing a few moments ago, but the peloton was not held up. As a result, the gap between the two groups has dropped to 1min 31sec.
A little harsh on those in the breakaway, but apparently, the UCI rules state that the original time gap between the two is not restored unless the chasing group catches the one in front before the gate has reopened. Rule 2.3.035 in the International Cycling Union’s fascinating rule book is considered “a mere race incident”.
88km to go
A reasonably big battle in the bunch for the remaining points on offer at the intermediate sprint. Andrea Pasqualon shifted towards the front, mob-handed with Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux teammates, but Elia Viviani jumped him while Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) followed. Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix) and Giacomo Nizzolo (Qhubeka-Assos) didn’t bother challenging for the few points up for grabs, presumably saving every ounce of energy they have for later in the day001:10 pm
90km to go
Samuele Rivi (Eolo-Kometa) wins the first intermediate sprint in Santa Rufina ahead of Umberto Marengo (Bardiani-CSF-Faizane), while Simon Pellaud (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec), who opened up the race for points – and a nice little cash bonus for the team’s prize pot – from some distance out.
The peloton trails by 2min 48sec.112:55 pm
100km to go
Jumbo-Visma (Dylan Groenewegen or David Dekker), Alpecin-Fenix (Tim Merlier), Qhubeka-Assos (Giacomo Nizzolo), UAE Emirates (Fernando Gaviria), and Cofidis (Elia Viviani) each have a rider at the head of the peloton, on behalf of their sprinters who are hoping to challenge for the stage – the named riders in brackets. Tucked in behind are seven riders from Ineos Grenadiers who are making sure Egan Bernal is kept out of the way of any danger.
A few say there is a threat of crosswinds today. Although on paper a relatively benign stage, everybody, especially those targeting the general classification, will have to be alert to the danger of splits. Interesting to note that Bora-Hansgrohe has not bothered putting a rider up near the front; many have tipped Peter Sagan for the stage, At 112:45 pm.
Meet the new maglia rosa
115km to go
The sprinters’ teams keep this breakaway on a tight leash, their lead dropping slightly below two minutes.
As it stands . . .
Afternoon all, well, it was a late start today, which, one assumes, will have given these tired riders a most welcome lie-in following two tough days in the medium mountains. Today is the shortest road stage of the race ahead of Tuesday’s rest day. The 172-man peloton rolled through KM0 at112.56 pmm (BST), and as soon as the flag dropped, a handful of riders scurried off to form the breakaway.
Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux), Umberto Marengo (Bardiani-CSF-Faizane), Simon Pellaud (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec), and Samuele Rivi (Eolo-Kometa) were the riders to go. Still, that quartet was soon joined by Kobe Goossens (Lotto-Soudal). The quintet currently leads by 2min 10sec, with 122km of the stage remaining.
Unsurprisingly, the sprinters’ teams all have riders on the front of the peloton as they monitor the breakaway. They will, of course, be planning to rein that quintet back on in the hope of setting up their fasten to challenge for the line honours.
Unlike much of the Giro thus far, it is perfect riding conditions out in Abruzzo, where it was sunny and 18°C at the start in L’Aquila, while it is forecast to be slightly cooler at 16°C at the finish in Foligno.04:50 am.
As you can see from the below profile of today’s stage, there are a few lumps and bubs but just one category for the riders. The category four Valico della Somma is just 6.8km long at an average gradient of 5%, which should not cause too many problems ahead of the fast-looking run-in to the line. As ever, there are two intermediate sprints, the first designed for the sprinters with points on offer in the race for the maglia ciclamino, while the second, positioned 17km out from the finish, has bonus seconds up for grabs.
The official website says about the day ahead: “A short, rolling setting with a pan-flat finale. The route climbs up to Sella di Corno and Forca di Arrone and tackles one last ascent up to Valico della Somma (awarding KOM points).
“The route eventually levels out in the final part, running on broad, mostly straight roads. As the stage passes through several urban areas, roundabouts, traffic islands, and street furniture will be found along the route.
The final kilometers (see below map and profile of last 3km) are pretty straight, up to 2,000m to the finish. Here the route features a right-hand bend, immediately followed by two left-hand bends that lead to the home stretch – at 1,300m out, with just a slight half-turn 500 m before the finish line, on tarmac road.”
In the absence of Caleb Ewan, the Lotto-Soudal sprinter that abandoned during Saturday’s stage, the Australian’s fellow sprinters – Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix), Fernando Gaviria (UAE Emirates), and Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) will all be hoping to land the final stage before tomorrow’s rest day. Equally, Elia Viviani (Cofidis), Giacomo Nizzolo (Qhubeka-Assos), and another Italian, Davide Cimolai, will be desperate to end their barren runs. Likewise, Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) has yet to win a stage at 04:50 am.
Catch up: Highlights from yesterday’s stage04:45 am
Ciao!
Hello and welcome to our live rolling blog from stage 10 at the Giro d’Italia, the 139-kilometer run from L’Aquila to Foligno. Following two mountainous days that saw a little shuffling of the general and mountains classification pack, the focus today should, in theory, switch back to the peloton’s fast men. But before we look at the day ahead, now is probably an opportune time to remind you of the top three riders in all of the main classifications, in other words, the ones deemed worthy of a leader’s jersey.
After winning Sunday’s stage – the first grand tour stage of his career – Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers), the 24-year-old Colombian, took the lead in both the general and youth classification and will for the first time wearing the maglia rosa, or the pink jersey, today. Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix) will spend the fifth day in the maglia calamine, the Cyclamen jersey, as a leader in the points competition.
Geoffrey Bouchard (Ag2r-Citroën) took control of the maglia Azzurra, the blue jersey after the Frenchman got in the day’s breakaway before scooping up the points atop numerous categorized climbs during Sunday’s stage. The top three in the youth classification mirror that of the overall. So Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck-Quick Step) will wear the maglia Bianca, or the white jersey, on behalf of Bernal. However, the winner of the mountains jersey at the Vuelta an España in 2019 has Bernal breathing down his neck ,having won the stage to earn a whopping 40 points.
