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Wednesday, May 15, 2024
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2023 Tour de France | 2023 Giro d'Italia
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Current racing:
- May 4 - 26: Giro d'Italia
- May 14 - 19: 4 Days of Dunkirk
Upcoming racing:
- May 18: Veenendaal - Veenendaal Classic
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
We posted the report from the race organizer and third-place Jan Tratnik's Team Visma | Lease a Bike with the results.
Here's the report Team Soudal Quick-Step:
Pompei hosted the start of stage ten, which marked the beginning of the second week, and after a couple of riders – including two-time Belgian Champion Tim Merlier – made a visit to the famous Amphitheatre where Pink Floyd held a private concert in 1972 – the race finally got underway, opening the way to numerous breakaway attempts.
It took more than 60 kilometers of crazy fast racing for a group to snap the elastic and build a nice lead over the peloton, as many teams were interested in joining this move knowing that it had a solid chance of making it. Once the front group formed, around 30 riders found themselves there, including Soudal Quick-Step’s Julian Alaphilippe and Mauri Vansevenant. For Alaphilippe, this was his fourth breakaway presence in nine road stages, a testament to his fantastic fighting spirit and desire to animate the race which he loves so much.
The dynamic duo helped the breakaway take their advantage to a maximum of six minutes, which put the group in the driving seat for the stage victory, especially as the peloton decided to have a calm day at the office. Alaphilippe and Vansevenant remained there until the final 40 kilometers, when a new series of skirmishes as the road began to go up fragmented the breakaway.
Valentin Paret-Peintre wins stage ten.
From there, Valentin Paret-Peintre (Decathlon AG2R) soloed to victory, while the favourites came home a couple of minutes later. Jan Hirt was there, after another solid outing on this third summit finish of the race, and concluded together with the GC contenders on Bocca della Selva, remaining Soudal Quick-Step’s best placed rider in the overall ranking.
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Here's the Giro report from Team Israel-Premier Tech:
The standings do not reflect it, but Israel – Premier Tech came out of the Giro d’Italia’s first rest day with renewed vigor and determination, and duly lit up the action throughout Tuesday’s 10th stage.
Simon Clarke’s kilometer zero attack set the tone: this was going to be a day for the breakaway. Marco Frigo eventually bridged across with 25 other riders, and on the finishing climb of Bocca Della Selva, found himself in the same four-man group as the eventual stage winner.
Stage ten gets started.
All of this came on the same day that British rider Ethan Vernon had to abandon the race through sickness, leaving the team with four riders. “We planned to be in the breakaway, and that worked out with Marco being in a good one on the final climb,” says Sports Director Rene Mandri.
Unfortunately, Clarke’s heroic efforts to help establish the breakaway – he essentially had an 80-kilometer two-up time trial with Alessandro De Marchi, conjuring memories of last year’s emotional finish into Naples – proved too much for the Australian. He dropped out of the move around 60 kilometers from the finish.
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Frigo’s hopes of taking a popular stage win ended when the pace on the 17.9-kilometer finishing climb proved too much for the 24-year-old. He crossed the line in 37th.
“It was a hard day from the start, the pace was full gas to get into the breakaway,” says Frigo.
“I think I did a good move to go with the other three guys. It was a good situation to be in.
“But on the last climb I just had to ride at my own pace. I hope to have better legs on other days. We will keep fighting to the end.”
Mandri praised the team’s committed performance, the best of this year’s Giro, adding: “We hope for some better days before Rome, but we can’t really regret anything we did today.”
“It would have been better if the breakaway had formed much earlier so Simon didn’t have to do as much. He was super motivated today but had to use up so much energy. Marco found himself in a really good move in the final but his legs fell short today.”
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We posted the report from fifth-place Milan Menten's Team Lotto Dstny with the results.
Here's the report from Team dsm-firmenich PostNL:
A wet day out in the saddle awaited the riders for the first stage at the 4 Jours de Dunkerque today. Setting out with the goal of looking to create a sprint finish with Casper van Uden, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL rode well together in the bunch behind the day’s breakaway. Coming into the finale and the local laps the rain began to fall even heavier, with mud and dirt on the road making things somewhat treacherous and slippy.
The team suffered some misfortune with Tim Naberman and Patrick Eddy both being involved in a small crash, and Van Uden suffering a puncture in the closing 15 kilometres. Nonetheless, the guys were okay and could return to the bunch. The pace was on coming into the final few kilometres with Nils Eekhoff left alongside Van Uden after some good positioning work by the rest of the team. However, through the final few technical turns the duo lost each other so coming out of the last corner Eekhoff tried to launch the lead-out from a distance but unfortunately Van Uden was too far; with the duo ultimately finishing eight and tenth on the stage.
Milan Fretin (Cofidis) takes the first stage. Getty Sport photo
Speaking after the finish Eekhoff said: "It took a longer time than expected for the break to form but once it was away it was quite a controlled stage. Towards the local lap we took the front to be in a good position. Unfortunately, Pat and Tim crashed on a roundabout so we lost some guys. Also because of the wet roads and dirt there were also quite some flat tyres in the peloton and for us on the local laps. We tried to stay organised the best we could with the guys we had left at those moments, keeping Casper in a good position.
"In the last kilometre Casper and me lost each other so I tried to go from far to launch him from a couple spots behind with other sprinters but he never made it unfortunately. Tomorrow we have a new chance and go again. With a bit more luck on our side then we can go for top result with the strong team that we have here."
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