Day for adventurers. The British Alex Dowsett (Israel Start-Up Nation) conquered the eighth stage of the Tour of Italy, this Saturday in Vieste, and the Portuguese Joao Almeida (Deceuninck) kept the pink ‘jersey’.
In a career that he knew before the start the abandonment of the British Simon Yates, the first cyclist to test positive for covid-19 during the round, the stage that ended in the Gargano peninsula favored the brave.
Dowsett, 32, gave the Israel Start-Up Nation team their first stage win on a grand tour and also in the WorldTour, which the Israeli training reached this year.
The Briton distanced his five escape companions at the entrance of the last 20 kilometers and ended if he were in a time trial, his specialty: in 2015 he held the world record for the hour before being surpassed by his compatriot Bradley Wiggins.
In second place came Italian Salvatore Puccio, who was ahead of another Briton, Matthew Holmes, and American Joey Rosskopf, 1 minute and 15 seconds behind the winner, at the end of 200 kilometers. The squad of favorites had a quiet day and came within fourteen minutes of Dowsett.
On Sunday, the eve of the first rest day, the ninth stage (208 kilometers) ends high at the end of a mid-mountain route between San Salvo and Roccaraso. The final climb in Abruzzo, 9.6 kilometers at 5.7% on average, will conclude with steep slopes (12%).
Classification of the eighth stage
General ranking
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