The flat 15th stage of the Giro d’Italia was predestined for the sprint specialists. But their teams apparently underestimated a small outlier group.
The Norwegian Fredrik Dversnes (Uno-X Mobility) was able to celebrate the stage victory at the prestigious arrival in the Olympic city of Milan on Sunday; it is the greatest success of his career. The 29-year-old, together with three Italian professionals, successfully completed a breakaway attempt and won the final sprint after 3:03 hours.
After 157 kilometers starting in Voghera, Mirco Maestri (Team Polti-VisitMalta) and Martin Marcellusi (Bardiani CSF 7 Saber) finished narrowly beaten in second and third place. Fourth-placed Mattia Bais did some speed work for his teammate Maestri in the final sprint.
Magnier driver with the best points
The quartet also benefited from the sprinter teams’ lack of determination in the final phase. The peloton reached the finish five seconds after Dversnes, Paul Magnier won the bunch sprint and came fifth. The Frenchman from the Soudal Quick-Step team took over the jersey of the driver with the best points.
In the table, however, Magnier’s gap was 57 seconds because the race management had previously decided to neutralize the section from the penultimate finish in Milan for safety reasons. The favorites for the overall ranking withdrew in the last few kilometers.
First a rest day, then arrival at the mountain
There is a rest day on Whit Monday before the final week begins with a mountain stage. The 16th section from Bellinzona to Cari is only 113 kilometers short, but intense with five categorized climbs. The final climb to the mountain finish (category 1) is almost twelve kilometers long.
The Dane Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma – Lease a Bike) has a lead of 2:26 minutes in the riders’ standings and is the big favorite for overall victory.
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