Ecuador’s Jonathan Caicedo (EF Pro Cycling) emulated his compatriot Richard Carapaz, last year’s Giro d’Italia winner overall, as he won Stage 3 to Mount Etna before his former breakaway companions Giovanni Visconti (Vini Zabu’ – Brado – KTM) and Harm Vanhoucke (Lotto-Soudal).
Hot favorite Geraint Thomas (Team Ineos Grenadiers) having suffered a harmful crash, João Almeida (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) moved into the lead with Caicedo second on the same time. 31 years ago, Acacio Da Silva, the only Portuguese to have worn the Maglia Rosa before Almeida, also took the lead on Mount Etna.
Stage winner Jonathan Caicedo said: “I’ve made a dream come true. It’s only my second year as a pro rider and it’s been very hard. I woke up this morning with the intention to make the breakaway and try and win the stage. I achieved it and it makes me very happy. The last kilometres have been a mix of suffering, emotions and pain. Now that I’m in a good position, I’ll keep fighting on GC.”
October 05, 2020 Italy
Sport Cycling
Giro d’Italia 2020 – 103th edition – Stage 3 – from Enna to Etna (Linguaglossa-Piano Provenzana)
Despite his young age and the lack of experience in three-week races, the strong winds and the powerful attacks made by the GC contenders inside the last four kilometers of the stage, João Almeida climbed exceptionally at the race’s sixth visit on Etna, the mountain where, according to the Greek mythology, Zeus trapped the monster Typhon who had challenged him for the supremacy of the cosmos.
Almeida began the day in the white jersey, which he had on loan, aware that he had a shot of donning the famous maglia rosa at the end of the day on the same ascent where his countryman Acacio da Silva became the first ever Portuguese to top the Giro d’Italia GC, 31 years ago. While Jonathan Caicedo (EF First) soloed to victory from the breakaway, the chasers had their own battle, and João showed incredible mental and physical resilience as he tried to stay with the best and limit the losses when cracks began to form in the elite group.
As he crossed the line in 11th place, one minute down on the winner, the 22-year-old was sure of a visit to the podium to collect the white jersey, but was soon announced that he is expected to take also the pink jersey, a huge but at the same time well deserved moment in the young career of the Caldas da Rainha native.
“Leading a Grand Tour is a dream come true! This performance left me speechless, I can barely find the words to describe how I feel. The pace was high on the last climb, so I just tried to control my effort. When the wind began blowing hard close to the top, I did everything to just hang in there and make it through the pain. It was a sufferfest until the finish, but I emptied myself out there, because we are the Wolfpack and we always give our best”, said the third Portuguese rider in history to lead a Grand Tour. “I am happy and proud to wear this iconic maglia rosa, which I will try to keep as much as I can, this I promise.”
2020 Giro d’Italia – Stage 3 Brief Results
- Jonathan Caicedo (EF Pro Cycling) – 150km in 4h02’33”, average speed 37.106km/h
- Giovanni Visconti (Vini Zabu’ – Brado – KTM) at 21”
- Harm Vanhoucke (Lotto Soudal) at 30”
General Classification After Stage 3:
- João Almeida (Deceuninck – Quick-Step)
- Jonathan Caicedo (EF Pro Cycling) s.t
- Pello Bilbao (Bahrain – McLaren) at 37”
- Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb) at 42″
- Harm Vanhoucke (Lotto Soudal) at 53″
- Vincenzo Nibali (Trek – Segafredo) at 55″
- Domenico Pozzovivo (NTT Pro Cycling) at 59″
- Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) at 1’11”
- Jakob Fuglsang (Astana Pro Team) at 1’13”
- Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo – Visma) at 1’15”
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