Alessandro Covi soloed from a breakaway group to win the Cima Coppi prize and Stage 20 of the 2022 Giro d’Italia. He made the break on top of the Pordoi before reaching the finish line of Passo Fedaia alone. He held off Domen Novak and Giulio Ciccone, who rounded off the stage podium.
Covi said: “I had a chance in these last three stages and I wanted to take a stage home. It was the teams objective to win a stage since we sadly lost Almeida with illness and we can leave the Giro on a happier note. I attacked from far out, I’m not a real climber so I thought I had to take an advantage on the others before the climb and in the end it worked out right. When I was on my own I went full gas and pushed on without worrying about the legs, although I’m glad the line came when it did as cramps were on the way. I did the best I could and I got there in the end.”
In the group of the GC contenders, Mikel Landa surrendered before Jai Hindley attacked and dropped Richard Carapaz 3.5km before the end. The Australian, now in the Maglia Rosa, will go into the conclusive time trial of Verona with 1.25″ advantage over the Ecuadorian, and 1.51″ over the Spaniard.
The new Maglia Rosa, Jai Hindley, said in the press conference: “We had a plan today and we executed it perfectly. Lennard gave me an incredible boost and when I heard that Carapaz had dropped back, I pulled everything out of the bag. I knew that today would be the decisive stage of the Giro. It was a brutal finale, but I knew that it was possible to make up time here if you have good legs. As for the time trial, we’ll see how it goes tomorrow. You never know how a time trial will go on the last day of a three-week tour, but I will give everything to win the pink jersey. The Giro is not over yet, but the team and I are very confident.”
2022 Giro d’Italia: Stage 20 Brief Results
- Alessandro Covi (UAE Team Emirates) – 168km in 4h’46’34″, average speed 35.175 km/h
- Domen Novak (Bahrain Victorious) at 32″
- Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) at 37”
General Classification after Stage 20
- Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe)
- Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) at 1’25”
- Mikel Landa Meana (Bahrain Victorious) at 1’51”
Jerseys
- Maglia Rosa, leader of the General Classification, sponsored by Enel – Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe)
- 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 (Trek-Segafredo)
(Alessandro Covi was awarded with the plate dedicated do the first rider on the Cima Coppi)
Data collected by Velon’s devices on the riders’ bikes tells the story of key moments of the stage. A graphic with today’s data can be found here.
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