Tao Geoghegan Hart claimed his first Grand Tour victory as he outclassed a Team Sunweb duo formed of Wilco Kelderman and Jai Hindley at the mountain top finish of Piancavallo, classified as the “Montagna Pantani” of the 103rd Giro d’Italia. In an emotional moment dedicated to his late directeur sportif Nicolas Portal, the Londoner took a fifth stage victory for Ineos Grenadiers – a team that has now won one third of the stages raced so far to compensate for the loss of their captain Geraint Thomas. In the reshuffled overall ranking, Kelderman is only 15 seconds down on João Almeida (Deceuninck-Quick Step) who lost contact 7km before the top but fought bravely to retain the Maglia Rosa for the 13th consecutive day.
Stage winner Tao Geoghegan Hart said: “We came to the Giro with a clear plan as Geraint Thomas was in amazing shape. It didn’t go as we envisaged, especially because of the nature of his crash in the neutral zone |of stage 3] in Sicily but we’re trying to make the most of what remains of this incredible year. All my teammates have been a great inspiration for me in this Giro. I’m not thinking of the GC. I just know that the big names in this race will try something spectacular in the final week. Everyone knows what a great influence Nico Portal had on the team and for me in particular: everyday we ride, we are remembering him”
The Maglia Rosa João Almeida said: “I was expecting for the others to attack today, so that wasn’t a surprise. You could see that the tempo was very high from the start of the climb and many riders got dropped early. I was well positioned, thanks to an amazing job of my team – without whom I wouldn’t be where I am now – and after getting distanced, I just rode my own pace and pushed the limits, but without going into the red.”
“I wouldn’t go as far as saying I had a bad day, it’s just you can’t always be flawless. It was the hardest stage of the race so far, a proper sufferfest and having survived it gives me a lot of joy and confidence. I will now enjoy the rest day and then continue to leave everything out there as I will try to hold the pink jersey”, João said after the podium ceremony.
The Maglia Azzurra Giovanni Visconti said: “A stage win is currently my main goal. However, I’m very happy to have the Maglia Azzurra at the moment. It was very difficult to break away without Guerreiro because he was following me all the time. At the start my teammate Zardini tried for me. With 12 riders in the lead, we went very fast for the first 30km. We managed to form a breakaway but the peloton chased us very hard. I’ll try again for sure. I want to win a stage.”
Stage 15 Brief Results:
- Tao Geoghegan Hart (Team Ineos Grenadiers) – 185km in 4h58’52” average speed 37.140km/h
- Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb) at 2”
- Jai Hindley (Team Sunweb) at 4”
General Classification After Stage 15:
- João Almeida (Deceuninck – Quick-Step)
- Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb) at 15”
- Jai Hindley (Team Sunweb) at 2’56”
- Tao Geoghegan Hart (Team Ineos Grenadiers) at 2’57”
- Pello Bilbao (Bahrain – McLaren) at 3’10”
- Rafal Majka (Bora – Hansgrohe) at 3’18”
- Vincenzo Nibali (Trek – Segafredo) at 3’29”
- Domenico Pozzovivo (NTT Pro Cycling) at 3’50”
- Patrick Konrad (Bora – Hansgrohe) at 4’09”
- Fausto Masnada (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) at 4’12”
Ron is the chief cook and bottlewasher at Bike World News, doing everything from website design to bike reviews.
Websites:
Bike World News
Ron’s Bike Garage
Current Bike Quiver:
Bird Bikes Zero 29 29″ hardtail mountain bike
Commencal Absolut 26″ Dirt Jump/Pump Track bike
Commencal Tempo 29″ full suspension mountain bike
Felt ZA 700c race bike
Kona Kilauea vintage 26″ mountain bike
Niner RLT9 700c road/gravel bike
Specialized Stumpjumper vintage 26″ mountain bike
Day Job: Digital Marketing
Night Job: Digital Marketing, eCommerce Consultant, Web Consultant, Bike Shop Operator, Husband, Dad, Tenor