photo credits @ Giro d’Italia
The two-time World Champion launched the first of many attacks some 138km from the finish before getting into a two-man breakaway with Mirco Maestri (Polti-Kometa) just 10km later.
After a long day out front, Alaphilippe jettisoned his breakaway companion along the final climb of Monte Giove with 11.5 km to go, quickly building up a 40-second gap and on to victory despite a concerted chase effort led by Jhonatan Narváez (Ineos Grenadiers) and Quinten Hermans (Alpecin-Deceuninck), who finished second and third on the stage.
Meanwhile, race leader Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) survived another day in pink as the main field came home over five minutes in arrears. The Slovenian rider continues to lead Dani Martinez (Bora-Hansgrohe) by 2:40 with Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) a further 16 seconds back in third.
Alaphilippe was part of a huge breakaway group that eventually rode clear of the peloton after more than 60km of racing, maintaining an average speed of 57kph, making it one of the fastest stages in the Italian Grand Tour’s history.
“No, no, no, I didn’t plan it. I was expecting a big group to be in the breakaway, and I think first I have to thank my teammates who really controlled perfectly the first 60k, and after, I was really focused to be in the front,” explained Alaphilippe before giving high praise to his companion in the break.
“We went first in the big group and then with Mirco Maestri together I said ‘We go’. He really deserved also to win today, he was amazing and we collaborated super well.”
It has been a tough period for Alaphilippe as he’s struggled with bad injuries in the last few years alongside public criticism from team boss Patrick Lefevere, but today was his day, silencing all the critics and paying off all the work with a dream win.
“I believe in it [the win], but until the last kilometre, I had to keep pushing full gas because I heard Narváez was close behind me,” Alaphilippe said.
“It was my dream to win a stage at the Giro and I did it, I’m really happy. I think of my wife and my son, they’ve supported me since forever.”
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