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2023 Tour de France | 2023 Giro d'Italia

Man is the most intelligent of the animals - and the most silly. - Diogenes

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Plato's dialogue Phaedo is available in both audiobook & Kindle eBook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Current racing:

• May 4 - 26: Giro d'Italia

Upcoming racing:

• May 14 - 19: 4 Days of Dunkirk

Latest completed racing:

• May 11: Tour du Finistère
• May 5: Tro-Bro Léon
• May 4: GP du Morbihan
• May 1: Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt
• April 21 - 28: Tour of Turkey
• April 23 - 28: Tour de Romandie
• April 26 - 28: Vuelta Asturias
• April 21: Liège-Bastogne-Liège
• April 15 - 19: Tour of the Alps
• April 17: La Flèche Wallone

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Giro d'Italia stage eight reports

We posted the report from the race organizer and GC fifth-place Geraint Thomas' Team INEOS Grenadiers with the results.

Here's the report from second-place Daniel Martinez's Team Bora-hansgrohe:

The eighth stage of the Giro consisted of almost 4,000 meters of elevation through the Apennines, with the 14.6km long and 7 percent steep final climb up to the ski resort Prati di Tivo forming the biggest challenge of the day. The last of the breakaway group was caught about 4km from the finish, and the stage victory was decided in a sprint from a small group of GC favorites. In the fight for the stage win, Pogačar accelerated, with Dani Martínez close on his wheel. The Slovenian, however, was too fast and took the day's win, with Dani finishing second. The Colombian BORA-hansgrohe rider thereby also obtained six bonus seconds, reaffirming his second place in the GC.

Daniel Martinez finishes second. Sirotti photo

Dani Martínez:
We came into this tough stage in second overall and we anticipated that Pogačar would continue to be super strong. The team rode a good pace on the final climb, so big thanks to them for the support. When the attacks came, I remained focused on Pogačar, and in the final 2km, I thought I might have an opportunity to go for the stage win. But he was so strong and I was pushed to the limit in the sprint in the end. But I’m pleased with this performance as we approach the first rest day shortly. The hardest parts of the Giro are still to come.

Enrico Gasparotto, Sports Director:
Our approach today was to focus on Dani Martinez throughout the day. The guys did a good job and, in the finale we were ready for any attacks with 5km to go. That ultimately didn’t happen, so we stayed focused on Dani for the sprint to the line. He did really well there. After this solid performance, we’ll keep on fighting. In the moment that it became clear that Pogačar wanted the stage win, we preferred to be conservative and gain seconds in the final sprint, based also on the headwind in the finale.

Here's the Giro report from fourth-place Antonio Tiberi's Team Bahrain Victorious:

The second summit finish of this year’s Giro d’Italia was nail-biting in the battle for the virtual podium, as Antonio Tiberi moved up on GC, and into second place in the fight for the white jersey. The Italian was more than satisfied with his day’s work:

“It was a really positive day. Sure, it would have been nice to get in the top 3 on the stage, but it’s all about climbing up the overall, so with what I did today, how I felt, and the progress we made in the classifications, I’m super happy.

"I tried a few attacks, and I showed I’m in good shape. It’s a long race, and we’re doing exactly what we need to.”

Antonio Tiberi finishes fourth. Sirotti photo

The day stared with a huge battle for the breakaway, which ended with 14 going up the road. The best placed rider in that group was Romain Bardet (DSM), who lay 5’23” behind overall leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE). That small margin meant that the favourites – and in particular the teams fighting for the overall podium – were never going to allow a big gap to develop. Despite the presence of Bardet, Julian Alaphilippe (SOQ) & Nairo Quintana (MOV), the break was caught without complications as UAE took responsibility at the front  of the chasing pack.

With a total of around 4000 vertical metres faced over the 152 kilometres from Spoleto in the foothills of the Appenine mountains, this was always going to be a day that tested the legs. And some of the strongest belonged to the 22 year old Italian. In a reduced group of the main contenders, which was led up the final climb of Prati di Tivo by three men from UAE, Tiberi was the first to challenge his rivals with 2km remaining. It wasn’t a full on attack, but enough to drop a few who couldn’t handle the injection of pace. Showing maturity beyond his years, Antonio sensibly fell back behind the wheels of Pogačar and Rafa Majka, saving energy, before going again under the ‘flamme rouge’. It was another brief foray that showed his strength, as he once again forced the others to dig deep.

“The climb wasn’t too hard or too long, but everyone seemed content just to sit behind the 3 UAE wheels of Majka, [Felix] Großschartner & Tadej, so I thought I would try to mix it up a bit rather than just follow. No-one’s invincible and we love to see real racing!”

After that came another finale that demonstrated the dominance of the Slovenian national champion, but the fight behind is becoming more intense as each stage goes by.

Our leader moved up to sixth overall, 4’23” behind the pink jersey, and 1’25” off the podium. The gap to Cian Uijtdebroeks (TVL) in the young riders’ classification is just 21 seconds, and the excitement in Italy about the potential of this young talent is growing by the day.

“This is just the start of the Giro really,” continued Tiberi. “We’re 8 stages in, and I know myself – I get stronger as the days go by. It was like that at La Vuelta last year, and hopefully it will be the same at this Giro. Even on the Oropa stage I felt strong, and if it weren’t for a bit of bad luck that day, I’d be second on GC. But that’s our sport, I only look forwards, and everyone’s going to have a bit of misfortune between now and Rome.”

“After the time trial yesterday I felt super good, and with the rest day coming after tomorrow’s stage to Napoli, that will give me a good chance to recover and prepare for the second week.

"Hearing the fans on the roadside, and feeling how the Italian public is getting behind me, I want to thank everyone for their support, and ask for even more!

"I would love to give the people of my home country something to really cheer about in my home race!”

Here's the report from Cian Uijtdebroeks' Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Cian Uijtdebroeks climbed with the best in the Giro d'Italia again. In a stage with arrival on top of Prati di Tivo, the young Belgian maintained himself in the group of favorites. The white jersey is back on Uijtdebroeks' shoulders after stage eight.

A group of fourteen riders broke away from the peloton in the early stages. Shortly before that, Jan Tratnik was very active to get into the breakaway of the day. But it soon became clear that some teams in the peloton had set their sights on the stage win today, as the lead of the breakaway never was very big.

With a few kilometers to go on the final climb, the last escapees were caught. At that point Uijtdebroeks was well in front and later parried several attacks by the competition. In a sprint won by Tadej Pogacar, Uijtdebroeks eventually finished seventh. With that performance, the Belgian moved up from seven to five in the general classification. In addition, the white jersey is back on Uijtdebroeks' shoulders.

Cian Uijtdebroeks is back in the white jersey. Sirotti photo

“It was a little too flat in the final for me to attack,” Uijtdebroeks said immediately after the race. “The legs were good. However, I prefer it a little steeper to attack. The pace was very high, so escaping was hardly possible. Antonio Tiberi tried a few times, but I was always right on his wheel. The white jersey is not what I'm racing with in mind. I am aiming for the highest possible result in the general classification.”

Uijtdebroeks is very satisfied with his performance in this Giro d'Italia. “We've already had some tough days, but it's going satisfactorily for me. We had another good battle today as well. It obviously gives me a lot of confidence that I recapture the white jersey and also move up two places in the GC. We can move forward with that again.”

And here's the Giro stage eight report from Team Groupama-FDJ:

Tadej Pogacar didn’t leave anything to the breakaway on Saturday, towards Prati di Tivo. This resulted in a very fast stage, and a fight for victory between the GC riders. At the top of the final climb, the pink jersey claimed his third win in this edition. The Groupama-FDJ cycling team is eyeing the ninth stage towards Naples on Sunday.

For the first time since the Grande Partenza in Turin, a day with more than 3,500 metres of elevation gain was on the riders’ menu in the Giro. Before reaching Prati di Tivo after 152 kilometers, two classified climbs were to be crossed, including the very demanding Forca Capistrello after twenty kilometres. It was there that the peloton exploded and a breakaway of fourteen men managed to go after a strong push.

“The start was very fast, and we don’t have a team of climbers,” said Frédéric Guesdon. “We hung on, and in this kind of stage, we mostly hope that the guys don’t have a bad day and that they are not all alone. You just need to take a good group, not get demoralized, and give your best until the finish.” Although the breakaway formed, the peloton didn’t ease off, never granting Julian Alaphilippe, Romain Bardet & co more than two and a half minutes of a gap. The pace remained high all day, and the peloton therefore never got back together.

Stage eight gets rolling. RCS photo

The last riders from the breakaway surrendered on the final climb, then the victory was judged after a sprint between the favourites. For the third time in this Giro d’Italia, Tadej Pogacar claimed it. All the riders of the Groupama-FDJ cycling team reached the summit of Prati di Tivo within the time limit, and with their minds already turned to Sunday’s stage 9 to Naples. “It’s flat in the first part of the stage, then the last fifty kilometers are much more technical and hillier,” concluded Frédéric. “In a way, it probably suits us better. Even though the guys finished far down the rankings today, the team is in good condition, is living well together, and they also know what they are here for. They know that tomorrow’s stage is important, and we will give everything to achieve the best result.” The last hill, 3km long at 4.5%, will be crossed seven kilometres before arriving in the Italian city.

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