Pieter Weening claimed stage 9 of this year’s Giro d’Italia today, after beating his breakaway companion, Davide Malacarne, in the waning moments of today’s mountain top finish in Sestola.
Domenico Pozzovivo followed through in third place, at 41 seconds behind the leaders.
Race Highlights
A breakaway group consisting of 14 riders took form at around the 50 kilometer mark in today’s stage. And, at one point, the escapees had developed a substantial lead of 8 minutes over the peloton.
However, with 19 kilometers remaining, Weening initiated an attack of his own, that was quickly followed by Malacarne. From there, the two escapees succeeded in holding off the peloton until the finish.
“The guys weren’t working perfect in the group,” Weening said. “It went slightly uphill and people were taking the wrong side of the round-about. I went on the other side and it was the right timing. I thought maybe we had to try to go before the climb. Malacarne came back and he was really strong. It was a steep part in the last climb, I made a fast speed but I couldn’t drop him. I waited until the last few hundred meters, I could gamble a bit, Malacarne was in the lead," Weening said.
Pozzovivo made a valiant effort to try and bridge himself to the two breakaway riders with a late pursuit in the closing kilometers. However, the lead duo could not be caught.
Meanwhile, Cadel Evans managed to hold onto the leader’s jersey, but not without losing time to Pozzovivo, who gained valuable time for himself during his attempt to catch the leaders.
“The guys controlled things until the move went,” Evans said. “There was a bigger selection which was in our favor because we could control the group. Guys were putting everything on the line and gambling a little more," said Evans.
“We have to be satisfied with our work so far. I’m very happy with our team and they put me in the position I’m in now. I’m very proud of my guys and we will rest well tomorrow.”
Stage 9 Results
NED 1 WEENING, Pieter (ORICA GreenEDGE) 4:25:51 ITA 2 MALACARNE, Davide (EUROPCAR) ITA 3 POZZOVIVO, Domenico (AG2R LA MONDIALE) + 42 ITA 4 ULISSI, Diego (LAMPRE – MERIDA) + 1:08 COL 5 URAN URAN, Rigoberto (OMEGA PHARMA – QUICK-STEP) NED 6 KELDERMAN, Wilco (BELKIN) AUS 7 EVANS, Cadel (BMC RACING) ITA 8 CATALDO, Dario (SKY) POL 9 MAJKA, Rafal (TINKOFF-SAXO) COL 10 DUARTE AREVALO, Fabio Andres (COLOMBIA)
General Classification after Stage 9 AUS 1 EVANS, Cadel (BMC RACING) 38:49:34 COL 2 URAN URAN, Rigoberto (OMEGA PHARMA – QUICK-STEP) + 57 POL 3 MAJKA, Rafal (TINKOFF-SAXO) + 1:10 ITA 4 POZZOVIVO, Domenico (AG2R LA MONDIALE) + 1:20 SUI 5 MORABITO, Steve (BMC RACING) + 1:31 ITA 6 ARU, Fabio (ASTANA) + 1:39 ITA 7 ULISSI, Diego (LAMPRE – MERIDA) + 1:43 NED 8 KELDERMAN, Wilco (BELKIN) + 1:44 COL 9 QUINTANA ROJAS, Nairo Alexander (MOVISTAR) + 1:45 CRO 10 KISERLOVSKI, Robert (TREK FACTORY RACING) + 1:49
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