CERVIA : Jonas Vingegaard claimed his second stage victory in three days at the Giro d’Italia on Sunday, powering clear late on to win stage nine, while Afonso Eulalio retained the overall race lead.
The Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider launched his decisive move in the closing kilometre of the summit finish on the 184-km route from Cervia to Corno alle Scale after tracking an attack by Austria’s Felix Gall.
Vingegaard crossed the line ahead of Gall, while Visma teammate Davide Piganzoli finished third.
Eulalio, riding for Bahrain Victorious, limited his losses with another determined performance, finishing fifth, 41 seconds behind Vingegaard.
The Portuguese rider continues to wear the pink jersey with an overall lead of two minutes and 24 seconds over Vingegaard, while Gall sits a further 35 seconds back in third.
Italian rider Giulio Ciccone looked poised for the stage victory after an aggressive late attack, but the Lidl-Trek rider was reeled in by Vingegaard and Gall inside the final two kilometres.
Ciccone had attacked with Belgian Toon Aerts and fellow Italian Diego Ulissi after breaking clear from the peloton with 74 km remaining.
On the final climb, Ciccone and Colombian Einer Rubio moved ahead before the Italian went solo, only to be caught in the closing stages.
“Again, they don’t want me up there from the start,” Ciccone said.
“I was feeling quite good on the last climb, but it wasn’t enough.”
Vingegaard, who also won stage seven at Blockhaus, once again proved strongest on the summit finish, although Gall continued to show he could be a major challenger in the mountains.
Following Monday’s rest day, riders will face a 42-km individual time trial from Viareggio to Massa on stage 10 Tuesday.
