Belgian Dries de Bondt (Alpecin) won the 18th stage of the Tour of Italy on Thursday in Treviso, ahead of his three breakaway companions, under the nose and beard of the sprinters.
Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz (Ineos) retained the leader’s pink jersey three days before the finish in Verona.
De Bondt, Belgian champion in 2020, overtook the Italian Edoardo Affini in extremis to win. Dane Magnus Cort Nielsen took third place ahead of Italian Davide Gabburo at the end of the 156 kilometer race.
The Italian Alberto Dainese settled the sprint of the first peloton, ahead of Arnaud Démare, for fifth place, 14 seconds from the winner.
The quartet formed from the first kilometers made life difficult for the peloton which nevertheless always limited the gap, less than three minutes. He resisted perfectly despite the headwind to reach the final circuit in Treviso and approached the last 10 kilometers with a lead of one minute, a sufficient advantage against a peloton thin and tired by the fast pace of the pursuit.
The sprinters therefore found themselves in check at the end of this stage which represented the last possibility of a massive sprint before the end of the Tour, Sunday in Verona.
De Bondt (30), who is taking part in the Giro for the second time, signed the 6th victory of his career, the first in a grand tour.
Portugal’s Joao Almeida, who was in fourth place overall, withdrew from the race on Thursday morning after testing positive for Covid-19, according to information provided by his UAE team.
On Friday, the race returns to the mountains with the 19th stage, 178 kilometers long between Marano Lagunare and the Castelmonte sanctuary, with an elevation gain of 3,230 meters. The route makes a 35 kilometer foray into Slovenia and passes by Mount Kolovrat, 43 kilometers from the finish, before a long descent and the final climb above Cividale (7.1 km at 7.8%).
