2023-05-26 17:37:46
This Saturday’s time trial will decide the champion, with 26 seconds between Thomas and Roglic
BARCELONA, 26 (EUROPA PRESS)
The Colombian cyclist Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain-Victorious) won the nineteenth stage of the Giro d’Italia on Friday, disputed between Longarone and Tre Cime di Lavaredo over 183 kilometers, in a tough ‘queen’ stage where Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers) defended well his ‘pink jersey’ despite losing 3 seconds to Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma).
Much was expected from this 19th stage and, given how bland this Giro d’Italia is being, there was a show and, again, water. A good setting for attacks from a distance that were not seen, but at least Thomas and Roglic attacked each other in the last kilometer and the Slovenian shaved just 3 seconds, to be 26 behind the ‘pink jersey’ overall.
Very small loot, almost imperceptible, for a Roglic who chose to make two attacks within the last 1,000 meters. The Slovenian seemed to have better legs, but his strategy was to attack once and counterattack a second. Thus, when it seemed that he would lose time with respect to Thomas, he overtook him in the final stretch and chipped 3 seconds in his favor.
Nothing compared to what could have been. The Jumbo-Visma could send a strong climber like Koen Bouwman, or even luxury squire Sepp Kuss, on the run to set a trap for the more solid bouldering INEOS Grenadiers. It was not like that, and Roglic played it one-on-one and Thomas, again, was hooked on him like a barnacle. He even found himself with the strength to counterattack and was on the verge of reinforcing his ‘pink jersey’.
As in the previous stage, the one who suffered to follow this duo was the Portuguese Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates), with 20 and 23 seconds lost at the finish line compared to Thomas and Roglic. He went further, as he usually does, after initially falling behind but this new small delay now leaves him 59 seconds behind the Welshman in the general classification.
The most notable change in this new general is to see the veteran Damiano Caruso (Bahrain-Victorious) in fourth place, already 4:11 behind the leader, after beating the Irishman Eddie Dunbar (Team Yayco AlUla), who sank in Tre Cime and he arrived at 3:03, with almost a minute lost compared to the Italian.
The stage was for Santiago Buitrago, the strongest climber in the break and who fulfilled the predictions by attacking 1.5 kilometers from the finish line, located in the beautiful area of Tre Cime. For the fourth time in this 2023 Giro, consummating his bad luck, Canadian Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech) was second.
Buitrago, winner of stage 17 of the Giro d’Italia 2022, is confirmed as a specialist in hunting days in the ‘Corsa rosa’, as he has two of his four professional victories in it. The 23-year-old from Bogotá is twelfth overall, the same position he held last year in the final classification of the Italian round.
This Giro d’Italia 2023 will be decided in the time trial, in its final part of a very hard time trial. A ‘chrono’ of 18.6 kilometers between Tarvisio and Monte Lussari. Start at 750 meters above the sea and finish at 1,744 meters.
First section of ‘chrono’ bike and second section to leave the ‘goat’ for a lighter one, thinking about the very hard ramps of Monte Lussari, with 7.8 kilometers at 11.2 percent of average unevenness and cemented walls above of 15 percent.
-CLASSIFICATIONS.
-Stage.
1. Santiago Buitrago (COL/Bahrain-Victorious) 5:28:07.
2. Derek Gee (CAN/Israel-Premier Tech) a 51.
3. Magnus Cort (DIN/EF Education-EasyPost) 1:46.
4. Primoz Roglic (SVN/Jumbo-Visma) m.t.
5. Geraint Thomas (GBR/INEOS Grenadiers) 1:49.
-General.
1. Geraint Thomas (GBR/INEOS Grenadiers) 81:55:47.
2. Primoz Roglic (SVN/Jumbo-Visma) a 26.
3. Joao Almeida (ENG/UAE Team Emirates) 59.
4. Damiano Caruso (ITA/Bahrain-Victorius) 4:11.
5. Eddie Dunbar (IRL/Team Jayco AlUla) 4:53.
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