Tim Merlier the strongest in Padua. At the end of 178 km of flat, the Belgian from the Soudal-Quick Step won just ahead of Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), who came back like a bullet in the final sprint of this 18th stage, this Thursday. The sprinter’s second victory in the 2024 Tour of Italy after that in Fossano during the 3rd stage. Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) completes the day’s podium.
After a hectic start to the stage due to once again capricious weather, the peloton finally let go of a little ballast when tackling the only difficulty of the day, the Lamon coast, letting go of a breakaway of four riders made up of the Italians Filippo Fiorelli (Bardiani CSF), Mirco Maestri, Andrea Pietrobon (Polti-Kometa) and the Dane Mikkel Honoré (EF Education-EasyPost).
If this idea of running away was logically laudable, it was never really able to develop to any hope of reaching its conclusion. Because obviously, the teams of sprinters, more precisely Lidl-Trek and Soudal-Quick Step, did what was necessary throughout the day to make the task of the four fugitives impossible.
Like a scenario written in advance and without ever having counted more than two minutes in advance, Fiorelli, Maestri, Pietrobon and Honoré, joined for a brief moment by Edoardo Affini (Visma-Lease a Bike), ended up entering the rank ten kilometers from the finish in Padua.
At the end of a final made nervous due to numerous urban developments and a few well-placed turns, Milan was ultimately the big loser of the day, finishing in second place behind Merlier, wasting the opportunity for the Italian to obtain a fourth stage success in this Giro. Four days before the arrival in Rome and after a relatively quiet day, Tadej Pogacar, leading the general standings, took another step towards the first coronation of his career in the Tour of Italy.
