Clever and technical, Andrea Vendrame took advantage of the descent of the Sella Valcalda to get rid of his breakaway companions 30 km from Sappada, finish of the 19th stage of the Giro, this Friday. A solo winner, like his teammate Valentin Paret-Peintre nine days earlier, the Italian offers a second success to Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale in this Tour of Italy. In total, this is already the 22nd victory of the season for the French team.
Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step), still offensive but trapped by Vendrame’s attack, took 9th place in the beaten group. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates) calmly keeps his pink jersey while the peloton has completely lost interest in the stage.
The breakaways follow one another and are similar on this Giro. In addition to Alaphilippe, winner of the 12th stage and present so often at the front, we found in particular Jhonatan Narvaez (Ineos-Grenadiers), winner of the first stage, Pelayo Sanchez (Movistar), winner on the sixth day, and Georg Steinhauser (EF Education-EasyPost), who raised his arms on Wednesday.
Vendrame knew this descent very well
In such a field, Vendrame was far from being the favorite to win the stage. “Andrea was limited on the climbs,” confirmed his sports director Arturas Kasputis at Eurosport, but his experience and knowledge of the course gave him an advantage. The 29-year-old Italian, originally from Veneto and therefore neighboring this stage in Friuli, “made magnificent descents on a wet road and managed his efforts well”.
His attack after the Sella Valcalda disorganized the pursuit and Vendrame took the opportunity to race towards the second victory of his career in the Giro, after 2021. “It’s a great accomplishment,” he said with emotion at the finish. .
Little scare for Thomas
The Maillot Rose group, marked by a fall by Geraint Thomas – without impact because he was expected by the favorites – in the last kilometers, arrived almost 16 minutes behind Vendrame. Two days from Rome, Pogacar maintains a 7’42” lead over Daniel Felipe Martinez (Bora-Hansgrohe), his runner-up, in the general standings.
