Caleb Ewan claimed his second bunch sprint victory of the 2021 Giro d’Italia in a hard fought finish that featured a degree of climbing in Termoli after breakaway riders Simon Pellaud, Umberto Marengo and Mark Christian were reeled in. The Australian responded to an acceleration by Fernando Gaviria to eventually pass Davide Cimolai and Tim Merlier on the line. He moved into the lead of the points classification while Attila Valter retained the Maglia Rosa for a second day.
Speaking at the press conference, the stage winner Caleb Ewan said: “The run-up to the sprint was really hectic and it felt like the sprint already started from the bottom of the short ramp in the penultimate kilometre”, says Caleb Ewan. “So, it really was crucial to be up there right at the front. Because if you have to hit the brakes on that climb, it takes so much energy out of you to accelerate again. So, I asked my teammates to bring me into a good position at the bottom of the steep ramp. But they did so much more. Not only did they bring me to the front just perfectly, Jasper De Buyst was really impressive. He made sure I could save a lot of valuable energy I’d need for my final sprint. So I am very happy that I was able to finish the job. This kind of finishes suits me perfectly because of my size.
“Maybe I was even a little too close to the front in the final, but obviously it’s better this way. To be honest, I was expecting an early attack from Gaviria, but I thought it would be on the steep ramp. When he attacked, I didn’t go full, but I rather used the Colombian as a target. I jumped on his wheel but kept some distance in the slipstream. With a few hundred metres to go, I then launched my sprint. It just went perfectly and I’m really happy with this second stage win.”
Maglia Rosa Attila Valter said: “Mostly, today, I enjoyed myself. I was lucky with the weather and the wind. I’m happy it was not a nervous stage. I heard people shouting my name or ‘Maglia Rosa’. It’s been an incredible reaction from Hungary, more than I could expect. Many non-cycling media wrote about me getting the Maglia Rosa, so people can start to learn about cycling in my country. Yesterday, I didn’t load the race data on my computer but it went well anyway. Tomorrow I’ll listen carefully to what the course is like but the most important thing is that my mind goes well, rather than stressing about the route. It’ll be more demanding tomorrow than today. I think I just need a good sleep to have good legs.”
2021 Giro d’Italia: Stage 7 Results
- Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal)- 181km in 4h42’12”, average speed 38.483 km/h
- Davide Cimolai (Israel Start-Up Nation) s.t.
- Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix) s.t.
General Classification After Stage 7:
- Attila Valter (Groupama – FDJ)
- Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) at 11”
- Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) at 16”
Jerseys:
- Maglia Rosa (pink), general classification leader, sponsored by Enel – Attila Valter (Groupama – FDJ)
- Maglia Ciclamino (cyclamen), sprinter classification leader, sponsored by Segafredo Zanetti – Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal)
- Maglia Azzurra (blue), King of the Mountains classification leader, sponsored by Banca Mediolanum – Gino Mäder (Bahrain Victorious)
- Maglia Bianca (white), young rider general classification leader, sponsored by Intimissimi Uomo – Attila Valter (Groupama – FDJ), worn by Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck – Quick-Step)
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