In this rainy stage of the Giro, the peloton let the breakaway ride in front all day long. The battle for victory was therefore decided between the men at the front and Andrea Vendrame took the opportunity to take the lead in the Cima Sappada, six kilometers from the finish.
After the ascent of Passo Duron, in which Julian Alaphilippe blew up a group of 19, the Frenchman once again attacked at the bottom of the second difficulty of the day, the Sella Valcada, 38 kilometers from the finish.
Having regrouped at the head, the Italian Andrea Vendrame left his breakaway friends 29 km from the finish on the descent. An attack that the rest of the group initially did not take seriously. But as the finish approaches, the Decathlon-AG2R rider grabs precious seconds from the group of six, made up of several stage winners in this Giro.
While the Italian exceeds a minute’s lead, he forces his former breakaway companions to deploy in the first kilometers of the climb of the Cima Sappada (8.3 km at 4.8%). As the road continues to rise, Georg Steinhauser goes on the attack, then joined by Pelayo Sanchez. Winners of the 17th and 6th stages of this 2024 edition, they destroyed the hopes of victory of Julian Alaphilippe who gave a lot on this Tour of Italy.
But up front, Vendrame continued his solo adventure and was not impressed by the return of Sanchez, wisely keeping him at bay around the minute. Still behind, the favorites of the day are relegated to more than two minutes.
On a wet road, Andrea Vendrame was able to negotiate the last bump before the red flame wonderfully and like a dancer. With a minute ahead of his pursuer in the last kilometer, he was able to take advantage of the descent before taking on his second stage on the Tour of Italy.
Thomas falls at the end of the stage
The Italian is 54 seconds ahead of Pelayo Sanchez and Georg Steinhauser finished third at 1′07. Far behind, the peloton took its time to finish 16 minutes behind the winner in an end of the race marked by the minor fall of Geraint Thomas, third overall, six kilometers from the finish, on a wet road.
