10 years after his first win in the race, Thomas de Gendt wins Stage 8 of the 2022 Giro d’Italia at the Lungomare Caracciolo in Napoli. The Belgian rider won the sprint between four of the 21 riders who were part of the breakaway that started at the beginning of the stage, pushed on by Mathieu van der Poel. De Gendt, in the company of Davide Gabburo, Jorge Arcas Peña, and his team-mate Harm Vanhoucke, anticipated the other fugitives by attacking 43km from the finish and resisting the return in the final of van der Poel himself, who tried in vain to take the lead in the company of Mauro Schmid and Biniam Girmay.
“Today I really had a great day and with three teammates in the breakaway we could play a bit” De Gendt said afterwards. “We played it out perfectly. Due to illness and bad luck, I wasn’t able to perform the way I wanted the last few years and that’s why this win feels maybe even more special than the one on the Stelvio.”
“I even doubted whether I would come to the start of this Giro in good shape. But this victory proves that I’m back at it. This stage reminded me of the stage in Barcelona during the Volta a Catalunya. The succession of climbs where it is difficult to recover suits me well, so I rode a tight pace up all the time to not really give anyone a rest.”
“I know I’m fast after a stage like this, felt still strong and gambled on the sprint. Harm played the team game perfectly in the final kilometres with Van der Poel and Girmay coming really close. At three hundred metres from the finish I gave it my all and that was enough to take the win,” De Gendt concluded.
Among the escapees, Guillaume Martin moved up on GC and now stands in fourth place 1’06” behind the Maglia Rosa Juan Pedro Lopez, who defended the lead despite numerous attacks launched in the final kilometers by Lennard Kämna. Tomorrow sees the second uphill finish of this Giro d’Italia at the top of the Blockhaus.
The Maglia Rosa, Juan Pedro Lopez, said: “Tomorrow, for sure, I’ll give 100% to defend the Maglia Rosa. If I keep it, I’m happy; if I lose it, I’m happy anyway. Yesterday and today, the strategy was to follow Lennard Kämna if he’d attack. Tomorrow, we’ll see. If the Blockhaus is as hard as what Giulio Ciccone told me in Sierra Nevada, it’ll be amazing.”
2022 Giro d’Italia: Stage 8 Brief Results
- Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal) – 153km in 3h 32’ 53’’, average speed 43.122km/h
- Davide Gabburo (Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè) s.t.
- Jorge Arcas Peña (Movistar Team) s.t.
General Classification After Stage 8
- Juan Pedro Lopez Perez (Trek-Segafredo)
- Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe) at 38″
- Rein Taaramäe (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) at 58”
Jerseys:
- Maglia Rosa, leader of the General Classification, sponsored by Enel – Juan Pedro Lopez Perez (Trek-Segafredo)
- Maglia Ciclamino, leader of the Points Classification, dedicated to ‘Made in Italy’ – Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ)
- Maglia Azzurra, leader of the Gran Premio della Montagna (KOM), sponsored by Banca Mediolanum – Koen Bouwman (Jumbo-Visma)
- Maglia Bianca, Best Young Rider, sponsored by Intimissimi Uomo – Juan Pedro Lopez Perez (Trek-Segafredo) – worn by Mauri Vansevenant (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team)
Tomorrow’s Stage – Stage 9, ISERNIA-BLOCKHAUS, 191 KM
A queen stage across the Apennines, with a 5,000m elevation gain. Shortly after the start, the route clears the Valico del Macerone and the challenging Rionero Sannitico ascent, continuing uphill all the way to Roccaraso. A long, undulating descent follows (nearly 90 km), leading to the foot of the first ascent to Passo Lanciano (coming from Pretoro). Next, the route drops into Lettomanoppello, cutting across a few urban areas, and starts to go up again in Scafa. The final climb (13km) begins past Roccamorice.
The last 13km rises steadily on a narrow road with several hairpins. Gradients are over 9% for almost 10km, with peaks reaching as high as 14%. There’s a very short counter-sloping stretch 500m before the finish. The home straight has an uphill gradient of approximately 8%.
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