CYCLING – THE third stage of the 108th Giro d’Italia took the riders on a 160km loop around the Western Albanian coastal city of Vlorë.
It was expected to be an unpredictable day, although the most likely ending was a group sprint, and that is how it turned out Lidl Trek’s Mads Padersen took a second victory and regained the ‘Maglia Rosa’.
For Bahrain Victorious, it was an excellent day’s work all round. Not for the first time this week, meticulous preparation from team staff in the face of very limited information allowed the riders to execute their objectives flawlessly in an increasingly nervy peloton.
Sports director Gorazd Štangelj emphasised how well the group executed the strategy:
“The boys did the job throughout the stage as we planned; actually even better. We knew it was going to be a dangerous stage, so to stay out of trouble we needed to invest a lot with positioning and being in the front. We got good information from our recon car about where the danger points were, so we moved to the front in every single section where we needed to.”
Having kept themselves prominent but safe all day, Pello Bilbao was one of the instigators of a strong two-man move that caught the day’s breakaway with 42km remaining. He and Lorenzo Fortunato (XAT) put in a sterling effort, but were caught 19km from the line once the sprinters’ teams put the hammer down behind. Soon afterwards Damiano Caruso put himself in the wind at the front of the bunch, pulling leader Antonio Tiberi behind him and ensuring the 23 year old faced no nasty suprprises in the most technical part of the course. The strategy worked perfectly, and both Italians – along with Bilbao – finished in the main group, safe and sound.
Štangelj added: “The attack with Pello happened just because the original breakaway was so close and suddenly the peloton slowed slightly on the climb. Some riders went, and Pello joined Fortunato who wanted the KoM jersey. Unfortunately they were only two over the climb. If it had been five or more they would have had a chance to dream but on the wide roads it wasn’t easy for them in front. But even when we caught them, Pello still helped out a lot with Damiano and Antonio.
“On the way to the start this morning we noticed a critical point, so Damiano made a nice move to bring Antonio to the safest place on that corner.
“With his main job done for the day, and his leaders defended, Edoardo Zambanini took the opportunity to sprint at the stage end, crossing the line in fifth place, a Giro career-best for the Italian who hails from Trentino-Alto Adige. The result was a great final effort from a young climber who puts everything on the line for his teammates day after day, believes Štangelj.
“Zamba also did a great job today protecting and positioning Antonio, and then when it came to the sprint he had the chance to go for it. I would say he did his best sprint of the season. Super job.”
The entire Giro cavalcade now crosses the Adriatic Sea to the homeland for another flat stage. The time in Albania has been both revealing and challenging in equal measure, but overall more than satisfactory from a Bahrain Victorious point of view.
“We are happy to finish these 3 days here in Albania in the way that we have,” continues Štangelj. “Now we move to Italy to start again the day after tomorrow.”
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