Tour of Italy
A Rubio won the first major mountain stage of the Giro d’Italia on Friday in the Swiss resort of Crans Montana. The Colombian prevailed on the stage of the day, which was shortened to just 74 km due to bad weather, ahead of his two escape companions, Thibaut Pinot from France and Jefferson Cepeda from Ecuador, thanks to an acceleration just before the finish. There was no upset in the overall classification on the shortest Giro stage in history.
Leader Geraint Thomas finished ninth, 1:35 minutes behind and just ahead of Primoz Roglic. In the overall standings, after 13 of 21 stages, the Briton is two seconds ahead of the Slovenian. Patrick Konrad finished 33rd, 4:53 minutes behind and is 16th overall, 7:33 minutes behind.
The first Alpine stage of the Giro d’Italia was again significantly shortened due to adverse weather conditions with rain and low temperatures. The originally more than 200 km long section with the previously canceled journey over the large St. Bernhard Pass was only around 74.6 km long. The more than 2,000 m high Croix de Coeur remained in the program, as did the final ascent to the destination at 1,500 m.
Pedersen has to retire due to illness
With the sick ex-world champion Mads Pedersen, winner of the sixth section, there was the next task before the start. In the course of the tour, which has been affected by bad weather, more than 40 drivers have already had to give up due to illnesses and injuries, including the co-favorites Remco Evenepoel (coronavirus) and Tao Geoghegan Hart (fall).
The 194 km route between the city of Sierre in Switzerland and Cassano Magnago in Lombardy, Italy, is scheduled for Saturday. After the ascent to the Sempione Pass, the Giro participants have a long flat section ahead of them.
