Giro d'Italia #3: Tricky sprint finish goes to Viviani
Dimension Data tame the wind but without a stage result
Elia Viviani (Quickstep) doubled up by winning his 2nd stage in succession at the Giro d'Italia. Sascha Modolo (EF-Education First) was 2nd and Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) finished 3rd.
The 3rd stage of the Giro d'Italia and the final stage in Israel, took the peloton from Be'er Sheva through the desert to Eliat. It was a long stage at 229km in distance and the threat of crosswinds made it an interesting stage. 3 riders made the early break of the day, but over such a distance, the sprint teams were easily able to keep control of the gap.
Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka looked to save energy in the main bunch, while paying attention to any crosswind action. It was only closer to home, in the final 15km when a few riders got shelled out the back due to the wind but Ryan Gibbons was being looked after by Jaco Venter, and both Louis Meintjes and Ben O'Connor had no problem staying near the front of the race too.
In the finale, the break was caught and Quickstep led the sprint from around 6km to go. The technical nature of the final meant Quickstep could maintain their position at the front and deliver Viviani to another stage win. Gibbons and Venter could not match the sprint trains with superior numbers and were never really in contention to sprint for a top result.
Alex Sans Vega - Sport Director
It was long day in the desert today. The heat and wind made the 229km quite a draining stage. Three riders made the break near the start which was good, because it made the day a little calmer than it could've been. After a good sprint yesterday, we were hoping Ryan Gibbons could do something similar today. The final was quite tricky with speed bumps and numerous roundabouts, so it was not easy for him and Jaco to keep a good position. Quickstep dominated the last 5-6km with a strong team leadout and that was the difference today.
Team Dimension Data For Qhubeka
Founded in 2007, Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka became the first ever African cycling team to gain a WorldTour license, in 2016. In the team’s palmares you can find a Milan-Sanremo victory, numerous stage wins at the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana, two Tour of Britain GC victories, and 42 National Championship titles. The team has bases in South Africa, the Netherlands and Italy. It’s also known as Africa’s Team due to its focus on helping African talents to the world stage of cycling. The team believes #BicyclesChangeLives and race to raise funds for the Qhubeka Charity which provides bicycles to people in Africa. #DoYourPart and gift a bicycle or part of a bicycle, by clicking here.
Qhubeka is an Nguni word that means “to progress”, “to move forward”. Qhubeka (qhubeka.org) partners with communities, public sector, private sector, and non-profit organisations to provide people with bicycles in return for working to improve their community, environment or school attendance.
Dimension Data (dimensiondata.com) uses the power of technology to help organisations achieve great things in the digital era. As a member of the NTT Group, we accelerate our clients’ ambitions through digital infrastructure, hybrid cloud, workspaces for tomorrow, and cybersecurity. With a turnover of USD 7.5 billion, offices in 58 countries, and 31,000 employees, we deliver wherever our clients are, at every stage of their technology journey. We’re proud to be the Official Technology Partner of Amaury Sport Organisation, organiser of the Tour de France, and the title partner of the cycling team, Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka.
Learn more about the team at www.africasteam.com.
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