photo credits @ Giro d’Italia
Simon Yates (BikeExchange-Jayco) claimed today’s individual time trial in the Giro d’Italia, after the British rider set the fastest time of 11:50 along the 9.2 kilometer course in Budapest, Hungary, triumphing over Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) and Tom Dumoulin (Jumbo-Visma).
However, after winning yesterday’s opening stage, Van der Poel’s second place finish was enough for the Dutch rider to hold onto the maglia rosa, with an 11-second lead over Yates.
“I’m really happy, a bit unexpected but I’ll take them [victories] as they come,” he said at the finish. “I just tried to go as fast as possible. I have to thank team partners Giant and Cadex – we put a lot of work into our equipment this year and it paid off.”
“There’s some much more demanding stages to come,” he added. “We’ll enjoy today but keep looking at the bigger picture.”
Race Highlights
Riders such as Alex Dowsett and Edoardo Affini set early benchmarks that were later toppled by the likes of Matteo Sobrero, Dumoulin and Yates, with the Briton ultimately stopping the clock just ahead of Van der Poel.
In the meantime, Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) rode a strong flat section but faded dramatically on the final climb, losing 28 seconds, while Wilco Kelderman (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) fared better, but the duo still conceded 17 and 18 seconds respectively.
Romain Barder (Team DSM) also put in a strong effort, finishing 24-seconds down on his teammate Thymen Arensman, who made it into the top 10, while Mikel Landa was beaten by his Bahrain Victorious teammate Pello Bilbao.
Meanwhile, Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost) put in a dismal performance, losing 38-seconds to Yates, while Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) suffered an even greater disappointment, crossing the finish a further 4-seconds in arrears.
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