Mike O'Connor
Australian riders continue to feature prominently as the Giro d’Italia moves beyond its halfway point, with four Australians sitting inside the top 10 overall after stage 11 on Wednesday.
While Jhonatan Narváez claimed the stage victory in Chiavari, the general classification remained unchanged, allowing a number of Australian riders to consolidate their strong positions heading into the decisive mountain stages later in the race.
Ben O’Connor remains the best-placed Aussie rider in fifth overall for Team Jayco AlUla, 2:48 down on the race lead.
Jai Hindley sits sixth at 3:06 for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, while Michael Storer is seventh at 3:28 for Tudor Pro Cycling Team.
The fourth in the top 10 is Chris Harper, with the Melbournian rounding out the group in 10th overall at 4:16, as the Giro enters its decisive phase.
Much of the reshuffle came after Tuesday’s stage 10 individual time trial, where race favourite Jonas Vingegaard failed to gain the a widely expected advantage. Instead, the Dane lost time to several rivals in a performance widely viewed as below expectations, opening the door for riders like O’Connor, Hindley and Storer to strengthen their positions in the GC battle.
Stage 10 itself was dominated by Filippo Ganna, who produced a stunning ride to win the 42km test from Viareggio to Massa by nearly two minutes.
Ganna’s time was all the more remarkable in that it was the fastest average speed ever recorded in a Grand Tour time trial longer than 40km across the Giro, Tour de France and Vuelta a España.
On Wednesday, however, the focus shifted back to the breakaway specialists, with Narváez taking his third stage win of the race after outsprinting Enric Mas at the end of the 195km stage from Porcari to Chiavari.
The UAE Team Emirates XRG rider and Mas escaped on the final climb before Narváez proved strongest in the sprint to the line. Diego Ulissi finished third.
“Mas was the strongest in the climb and I knew I had to play my game,” Narváez said after the finish. “It was full gas racing all day.”
The race for the Maglia Rosa
At the top of the standings, Portugal’s Afonso Eulálio retained the Maglia Rosa and still leads Vingegaard by 27 seconds heading into stage 12.
The next few days are expected to offer a brief respite for the overall contenders before the Giro heads back into the high mountains.
Stage 12 is a relatively flat run from Imperia to Novi Ligure that should favour the sprinters, while the following stages feature rolling terrain and punchy climbs likely to suit breakaways and opportunists.
Giro d’Italia – General Classification after stage 11 (Top 10)
- Afonso Eulálio (Portugal) — 39h 40m 34s
- Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark) — +27s
- Thymen Arensman (Netherlands) — +1m 57s
- Felix Gall (Austria) — +2m 24s
- Ben O’Connor (Australia) — +2m 48s
- Jai Hindley (Australia) — +3m 06s
- Michael Storer (Australia) — +3m 28s
- Derek Gee (Canada) — +3m 34s
- Giulio Pellizzari (Italy) — +3m 36s
- Chris Harper (Australia) — +4m 16s
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Mike O’Connor – A keen cyclist, runner and photographer, Mike O’Connor is the Editor of Bicycling Australia. He manages the BA website and social media, and loves promoting the achievements of Australian cyclists.
