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EFE · Road Competition · 10/20/2020
The Slovenian cyclist Jan Tratnik (Bahrain-McLaren) won this Tuesday in the sixteenth stage of the 103rd edition of the Giro d’Italia, on a route of 229 kilometers between Udine and San Daniele del Friuli, in which the Portuguese Joao Almeida (Deceuninck -Quick Step) kept the leader’s ‘pink jersey’.
Tratnik gave the first stage of this Giro to the Bahrain-McLaren team with an ambitious attack 40 kilometers from the finish and, after being reached in the last 10 kilometers by the Australian Ben O’Connor (NTT). He triumphed several meters ahead with a time of 6 hours, 4 minutes and 36 seconds.
It was a day in which the greats saved energy and entered almost 13 minutes late, but Almeida sent a signal to his rivals and attacked in the last meters to increase his advantage over the Dutch Wilco Kelderman (Sunweb) by 2 seconds, now to 17 seconds.
After enjoying the last rest day of this Giro, the riders opened the last week on Tuesday with a long stage, the second longest of this edition, and historical, since it was the 2,000th in the history of the ‘corsa rosa’.
They faced a sequence of slides in the Madonnina del Domm (2nd, 10.8 km at 7.1% of average slope), at Monte Spig (3rd, with 2.8 km at 10%) and at Cota de Monteaperta ( 3rd, from 3.3 km to 7.6%).
They then climbed the wall of the Castle of Susans, with 1 kilometer at a 16% slope, before the demanding triple climb to Monte di Ragogna (2.8 km at 10.4% on average and a maximum of 16%) in the final circuit.
Two riders, Tratnik and Manuele Boaro (Astana), attacked and took a margin that exceeded 11 minutes over the group, which was disinterested in the leaders and managed the rhythms for the next demanding stages.
It was Tratnik, a more prepared climber than Boaro, who sought glory with an ambitious attack almost 40 kilometers from the San Daniele finish line, pursued by Boaro and a group of six runners at about 40 seconds.
Of them, it was the Australian Ben O’Connor (NTT) who launched himself in pursuit of Tratnik and caught him about 12 kilometers from the end, while the peloton was already accumulating more than a quarter of an hour late.
O’Connor tried to increase the pace in search of victory, but Tratnik had more strength and managed to enter first with 7 seconds of margin, allowing him to raise his arms to the sky.
Almost 13 minutes later it was time for the peloton, in which Almeida had the energy to accelerate in the final meters and take a 2-second margin over his first pursuers.
The Portuguese now has a 17-second lead over Kelderman, 2:58 over Australian Jai Hindley (Sunweb) and 2:59 over British Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadier).
The Spanish Pello Bilbao (Bahrain-McLaren) is fifth, 3 minutes and 12 seconds behind Almeida.
The Giro d’Italia will continue this Wednesday with the dispute of its seventeenth stage, of 203 kilometers, starting in Bassano de Grappa and finishing high in Madonna di Campiglio, first category final.
Classifications [Clasificaciones completas]
Stage classification:
1. Jan Tratnik (SLO / Bahrain-McLaren) – 6:04:36
2. Ben O’Connor (AUS / NTT) at 0:07
3. Enrico Battaglin (ITA / Bahrain-McLaren) at 1:14
4. Kamil Malecki (POL / CCC) at 1:14
5. Ben Swift (GBR / Ineos) at 1:14
6. Andrea Vendrame (ITA / AG2R-La Mondiale) at 1:21
7. Geoffrey Bouchard (FRA / AG2R-La Mondiale) at 1:21
8. Matteo Fabbro (ITA / Bora-Hansgrohe) at 1:25
9. Manuele Boaro (ITA / Astana) 1:33
10. Alessandro Tonelli (ITA / Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè) at 1:37
General ranking:
1. João Almeida (POR / Deceuninck-Quick Step) – 65:45:08
2. Wilco Kelderman (NED / Sunweb) at 0:17
3. Jai Hindley (AUS / Sunweb) at 2:58
4. Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBR / Ineos) at 2:59
5. PELLO BILBAO (ESP / Bahrein-McLaren) at 3:12
6. Rafal Majka (POL / Bora-Hansgrohe) at 3:20
7. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA / Trek-Segafredo) at 3:31
8. Domenico Pozzovivo (ITA / NTT) at 3:52
9. Patrick Konrad (AUT / Bora-Hansgrohe) at 4:11
10. Mascara (ITA / Deceuninck-Quick Step) at 4:24
Next stage, 17: Bassano de Grappa – Madonna di Campiglio / 203 Km.
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