Blockhaus, 14th May - Exciting finish at 9th Stage of Giro d’Italia brought a new GC leader. Vincenzo Nibali took 5th place.
Soon after the start of today’s stage nine riders went for breakaway and quickly after that three more joined them, with a maximum gap just under four minutes. The breakaway lasted until 22km to go, when the GC teams prepared for the final fight. Some serious drama occurred on the race with the incident involving a motorcycle and the peloton but luckily BAHRAIN MERIDA riders were not involved in the mentioned crash.
Quintana attacked at 6.7km to go, taking only Vincenzo Nibali and Pinot with him. Riders were then spread all over the road with time gaps beginning to form between the GC contenders. Quintana, Pinot and Vincenzo Nibali were all close together in the last 5km, but Quintana’s attack at 4.7km to finish proved decisive. Vincenzo Nibali fought till the end but unfortunately lost the power in the legs and finished 5th, 1 minute behind the winner.
Finished 5th at today’s 9th stage Vincenzo Nibali commented: “It wasn’t a climb for me. Quintana’s team made a great pace and we took the last 13km very fast. Probably I was too generous and I spent too much energy at the beginning of the climb. But I will have more opportunities in the next days.”
Sports Director Gorazd Štangelj commented the race: “We are not disappointed at all. I am sure that Vincenzo could cross the finish line with Dumoulin. But we all know Vincenzo - he races with his legs and his heart, that is his way of racing and maybe that was decisive today. His brutal effort from the start of the climb probably punished him in the end - but this is his way of racing. Motivation of the team stays very high and we are fighting on.”
FINAL RESULT OF THE 9th STAGE
1 - Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team)
2 - Thibaut Pinot (FDJ)
3 - Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb)
4 - Bauke Mollema (Trek - Segafredo)
5 - Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain - Merida)
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1 - Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team)
2 - Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) at 28"
3 - Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) at 30"
4 - Bauke Mollema (Trek - Segafredo) at 51"
5 - Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain - Merida) at 1'10"
(All pictures attached can be used for editorial and non commercial usages only and are copyright protected – © Team Bahrain-Merida/ @BettiniPhoto)
Vincenzo Nibali in posizione inedita per una salita come il Blockhaus © PHOTO CREDIT: LaPresse - D'Alberto / Ferrari
Vincenzo Nibali ha commentato: "Non era una salita per me. La squadra di Quintana ha fatto un grande passo e abbiamo affrontato gli ultimi 13 km molto veloci. Probabilmente sono stato molto generoso e ho speso troppe energie all'inizio della salita. Ma avrò più opportunità nei prossimi giorni ".
Il direttore sportivo Gorazd Štangelj ha commentato la gara: "Non siamo delusi. Sono sicuro che oggi Vincenzo poteva attraversare la linea d'arrivo con Dumoulin. Ma tutti conosciamo Vincenzo - si corre con le gambe e con il suo cuore, è il suo modo di correre e forse quest'ultimo oggi è stato decisivo. Il suo massimo sforzo dall'inizio della salita probabilmente lo ha pagato nel finale - ma questo è il suo modo di correre. La motivazione della squadra rimane alta e stiamo lottando per la classifica ".
Vincenzo Nibali dopo l'arrivo © Photo Andrea Magnani / BIKENEWS.IT
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