André Greipel demonstrated his pure power today to sprint to victory in the 2nd stage of the 2017 Giro d’Italia. The Gorilla had received bib number one hundred for the hundredth edition of the Giro d’Italia and today he did it justice. This is his first time in the maglia rosa in his career.
The second stage went 221 kilometres throughout the up-and-down Sardinian landscape. The stage started in Olbia and finished in Tortolì. It didn’t take long before a breakaway was established. Teklehaimanot, Koshevoy, Andreetta, Owsian and Shalunov were the escapees of the day, after some attempts had failed earlier. Four of the five riders stayed ahead until the last climb, only Andreetta was already dropped before the climb.
On paper the Genna Silana, a second category climb of almost twenty kilometres, seemed ideal to decide the race, but there were no big accelerations from the bunch. An almost complete peloton started the descent of around thirty kilometres. Bahrain – Merida determined the pace in the descent and got the peloton completely stretched out, causing trouble for some riders, including Zakarin. In the last kilometres the teams of the sprinters could organise themselves. André Greipel was well-placed at the front of the bunch, surrounded by his teammates.
Jasper De Buyst pulled the sprint rather early with an enormous effort and André Greipel finished it off in style. Roberto Ferrari became second and Jasper Stuyven finished third. Tomorrow Greipel will defend his pink jersey in a new sprint stage.
“It’s an honour to win a stage in the Giro and to wear the pink jersey,” Greipel said. “There are a few moments in your career as a sprinter where you can get hold of the leader’s jersey in a Grand Tour. You can feel a euphoric pink atmosphere here in Italy and even more because it’s the one hundred edition. They are totally in love with cycling so to wear this pink jersey on stage was an incredible feeling.
“We didn’t really count on a sprint today but obviously we had a plan,” he added. “We hoped a small group would escape from the bunch and that Bora would control the gap, and they did. The pace on the long climb was doable. I expected more attacks from the better descenders in the bunch, but the headwind on the climb and in the finale played in the advantage of the sprinters.
“In the descent it was important to stay focused and not to be surprised by splits in the peloton. In the finale I pushed myself forward and with the support of my teammates I reached the front of the bunch. We got an unexpected opportunity to sprint again. Just like yesterday, at four and a halve kilometres from the finish, there was a crucial point with small and twisty roads. It was key to be at the front of the bunch and we were. Jasper De Buyst pulled the sprint well, but I felt I would end up too early in front, so I let Mezgec in between. I ended up winning the stage and this was an amazing feeling.”
“For the team and myself this is very special. It has been a difficult season so far. A Belgian team is expected to show itself in the Classics and we didn’t this year. Our next goal was to straighten our backs for the rest of the season and this is a great start. To be honest, our Giro is already a success but of course now we want more. But let us enjoy this victory and the pink jersey first,” he concluded.
Teklehaimanot Takes Climbers’s Jersey
For Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka, it was yet another fantastic stage as Daniel Teklehaimanot took the lead in the King of the Mountains competition and our two sprinters, Kristian Sbaragli and Ryan Gibbons, finished in the top 10 by placing 5th and 7th respectively.
With more climbing on the menu today than yesterday, Teklehaimanot, who had missed out on taking the Maglia Azzurra yesterday, set off to claim the King of the Mountains jersey. Teklehaimanot was joined by 4 others to form the main break of the day.
Teklehaimanot showed no signs of fatigue after his efforts on stage 1 and proceeded to win both intermediate sprints and the main category 2 climb of the stage. This saw Teklehaimanot take the lead in the King of the Mountains competitions and pull on the coveted Maglia Azzurra after the stage.
2017 Giro d’Italia Stage 2 Results:
- Andre Greipel (Germany / Lotto) 6:05:20″
- Roberto Ferrari (Italy / UAE Team Emirates) ST
- Jasper Stuyven (Belgium / Trek)
- Fernando Gaviria (Colombia / Quick-Step)
- Kristian Sbaragli (Italy / Dimension Data)
- Enrico Battaglin (Italy / LottoNL)
- Ryan Gibbons (South Africa / Dimension Data)
- Geraint Thomas (Britain / Team Sky)
- Caleb Ewan (Australia / Orica)
- Valerio Conti (Italy / UAE Team Emirates)
General Classification After Stage 2:
- André Greipel (Ger/ Lotto Soudal) 11:18:39
- Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut/Bora-Hansgrohe) at 4″
- Caleb Ewan (Aus/Orica-Scott) at 8″
- Roberto Ferrari (Ita/UAE Team Emirates) s.t.
- Jasper Stuyven (Bel/ Trek-Segafredo) at 10″
- Pavel Brutt (Rus/ Gazprom – Rusvelo) at 12″
- Kristian Sbaragli (Ita/ Dimension Data) at 14″
- Ryan Gibbons (RSA/ Dimension Data) s.t.
- Fernando Gaviria (Col/ Quick-Step) s.t.
- Enrico Battaglin (Ita/ Team LottoNL) s.t.
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