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Giro d'Italia stage 13 team reports

We posted the report from third-place Jasper Stuyven's Team Soudal Quick-Step with the results.

Here's the report from GC leader Afonso Eulalio's Team Bahrain Victorious:

Afonso Eulálio retained the Maglia Rosa and Maglia Bianca after Stage 13 of the Giro d’Italia, completing the 189km stage from Alessandria to Verbania safely with his teammates before the race heads into the Alps.

Alberto Bettiol (XDS Astana Team) took the stage victory from the breakaway, with Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility) second and Jasper Stuyven (Soudal Quick-Step) third.

The stage was mostly flat for much of the day, crossing Piedmont towards Lake Maggiore, before the final part brought two short climbs and a fast run into Verbania. A strong 15-rider breakaway went clear early and built a large advantage, with the GC teams choosing not to chase after no direct threat to the overall lead was represented in the move.

For the squad, the priority was clear: keep Eulálio protected, avoid unnecessary risks and bring both jerseys through another day. The Portuguese rider had to deal with an early puncture, but he was quickly brought back to the peloton and remained well positioned with the team for the rest of the stage.

In the final kilometres, Bettiol made the decisive move on the climb to Ungiasca, catching and passing Leknessund near the top before holding his advantage on the descent and the flat run to the finish. Behind, the GC contenders finished together, with no major changes among the overall favourites.

For Eulálio and the team, it was another controlled day in the Maglia Rosa and Maglia Bianca, and an important step before one of the key mountain stages of this Giro.

Afonso Eulalio will start stage 14 in pink Sirotti photo

Afonso Eulálio said:
“Today was perfect for us. We kept the jerseys, the Maglia Rosa and the Maglia Bianca, and the team did a perfect job again, like they have done every day.
At the start it was super fast because everyone wanted to go in the breakaway, as it was a good stage for the break. But the team kept me calm and protected really well in the bunch. We did a perfect job, like we have been doing until now.
I hope the team is enjoying these days like I am, because what we are living now is incredible for me. I just need to say thank you to all the team.

"In the final, the GC guys arrived together, so we stayed safe and kept the jerseys. That is perfect. Tomorrow is a different stage, with a long climb at the start and a long climb at the end. We will try to survive, keep fighting, and that’s it.”

Franco Pellizotti, Sports Director added:
“Today was a super fast stage, but the riders managed the breakaway pretty well and in the end we saved the day. They had to pull a lot, but the time gap to the GC group was always under control.

"It was a hot day today, and tomorrow will also be hot, but we managed it well with the extra feed zones and with a lot of ice from the car.

"Tomorrow we are expecting a very hard stage, probably one of the hardest of this Giro. I think teams like Visma will control the stage. There will be breakaways, but we are here, we have done a great Giro until now, and we have to go step by step.

"It will be a super hard start tomorrow, and after the first climb we will see how many riders we still have in front. It is a hard stage for us, especially after nine days in the Maglia Rosa. The riders have had to work a lot during these days, and tomorrow I think other teams will also have to work a lot, not only to gain time. We hope to survive well in the end, but for sure we will keep fighting tomorrow.”

Tomorrow’s Stage 14 takes the race from Aosta to Pila over 133km, with more than 4,200 metres of climbing and a summit finish that is expected to bring the GC battle back to the front. After another strong day of teamwork, Eulálio will start the stage still leading both the general classification and the young rider classification.

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Here's the Giro report from Mikkel Bjerg's UAE Team Emirates-XRG:

On stage 13 of the Giro d’Italia, Mikkel Bjerg fought hard to take seventh place for UAE Team Emirates-XRG. The Danish rouleur muscled his way into the day’s breakaway, and produced a determined display to survive the late climbs and take another top 10.

Just three days on from his top-10 finish in the individual time trial, Bjerg was in the thick of the action once more on Friday afternoon. Owing to the day’s parcours, a breakaway was allowed plenty of wriggle room by the peloton, and it was from this front group that Alberto Bettiol (XDS Astana Team) shone to take the stage victory.

As for Bjerg, the 27-year-old clipped off the front of the peloton with 187km of the day still to ride. There was already a healthy breakaway up the road, but the Dane was determined not to miss out. As such, Bjerg joined a small assortment of riders who all worked in unison to close the gap and make their way to the head of proceedings.

In stage 13 the peloton races across northern Italy. Sirotti photo

Once the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider was in the leading group of more than 10 riders, the peloton backed off, allowing the gap to balloon to well over nine minutes. Their powder would be kept dry for another day.

Up front, Bjerg made the most of his opportunity by battling hard to stay with the majority of his rivals on the day’s final climb, before winning his small group’s sprint to the line in Verbania. That was enough to earn him seventh place on stage 13.

The Dane was content with his showing when talking to reporters beyond the finish line.

Bjerg: “I was saving a bit in the beginning and then Ineos tried to make a lead-out for Ganna that I tried to follow, but it was really difficult. Him and Sobrebro tried to jump up to the breakaway, then a small group went afterwards and we had 20 seconds for 25km or something, before they eventually let us go.

“I think the idea was if I had the legs, I would try to go before the climb. But I didn’t have the legs so I just tried to do my own pace on the climb and in the sprint I had good legs, so I won the sprint for seventh.”


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The Story of the Giro d’Italia, vol.1 Shade Vise sunglass holder Paris-Roubaix: The Inside Store

Here's the Giro report from Jonas Vingegaard's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Team Visma | Lease a Bike experienced a relatively calm thirteenth stage at the Giro d’Italia. Leader Jonas Vingegaard and his teammates watched the day’s breakaway fight for the stage victory, allowing the Dutch squad to quickly shift its focus toward tomorrow’s mountain stage.

An interesting battle for the day’s breakaway right after the start in Alessandria was the highlight of the day for a long time. Team Visma | Lease a Bike stayed in control at the front of the peloton alongside Team Bahrain Victorious, the team of pink jersey holder Afonso Eulálio. On the hot afternoon in Italy, the breakaway riders were allowed to build a lead of nearly twelve minutes.

It soon became clear that the fifteen-man breakaway would decide the winner of the thirteenth stage. The fight for victory unfolded on the two categorized climbs deep in the finale. Alberto Bettiol countered an attack by Andreas Leknessund and ultimately finished solo in Verbania. Moments later, Vingegaard and his six teammates all safely reached the finish. The Danish leader remains second overall, 33 seconds behind Eulálio.

Jonas Vingegaard finishes stage nine. Sirotti photo

“It was an easier day than yesterday”, Vingegaard says afterward. “Most of the stage was flat. We came through the climb at the end without any problems, and we handled that well as a team. I’m very satisfied with today and really looking forward to tomorrow.”

A spectacular day now awaits at the Giro d’Italia. The fourteenth stage features five categorized climbs, including the uphill finish in Pila. “We’re going to do everything we can to take the pink jersey tomorrow. That would obviously be a huge honor. It’s nice that we’ll be climbing again, although it’s definitely going to be a tough day”, the Dane predicts.


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And here's the Giro report from Team Netcompany INEOS:

There was no movement in the overall standings as Alberto Bettiol (XDS Astana) took the stage win from the break.

Filippo Ganna was keen to make the break, but was denied on multiple occasions by an aggressive peloton that wanted to deny the Italian victory in his hometown.

Once the escapees had a sufficient gap, the peloton eased and allowed their advantage to grow, with Thymen Arensman, Egan Bernal and other GC riders keen to preserve energy ahead of stage 14’s mountain test.

Egan Bernal takes a selfie with a fan before the start of stage 13. Siroptti photo

Earlier, Filippo Ganna and Connor Swift had been active in trying to get into the breakaway - which would seem pivotal due to the flat nature of the stage.

However, Ganna was a marked man and his multiple efforts to escape were denied by the bunch behind.

A break finally went clear after around 45 minutes of cat and mouse chasing, which then saw the peloton reduce the pace ahead of a key weekend.

Arensman and Bernal finished in a reduced bunch which finished over 13 minutes behind winner Bettiol, with attention already switched to stage 14's GC test.

Artem Shmidt battled to finish fourth after his counter-break succeeded on stage three of 4 Jours de Dunkerque.

Shmidt and Lucas Hamilton were part of a strong group that moved clear of the bunch on the cobbled finishing circuit of Wallers Arenberg.

The peloton threatened to catch them on multiple occasions, but the group were able to evade capture and accelerated on the final cobbled sector to ensure they would contest the stage win between them

Rasmus Tiller (Uno-X Mobility) stole a march on the group however, with nobody able to catch him, with Shmidt finishing fourth in the chase group to move up to sixth overall.