Philip Deignan delivered another assured performance on the penultimate stage of the Giro del Trentino (Photo: Sirotti)
By Brian Canty
Philip Deignan delivered another assured performance on the penultimate stage of the Giro del Trentino this afternoon, playing a key role in helping teammate Mikel Landa retain the race lead.
The Donegal man crossed the line in 58th over nine minutes behind winner Tanel Kangert of Astana.
But that was simply because he was utterly spent from marking a number of attacks earlier on in the race as well as helping control the tempo.
He wasn’t alone, of course, and rising Italian star Gianni Moscon was another who really excelled for the men in black, sticking with Landa for as long as they could.
The pair crossed the line side by side. Landa, for his part, was seventh on the stage, conceding 10 seconds to the stage winner.
Advertisement
But he did enough to ensure he’s in pole position for his first stage win of the year going into tomorrow’s final leg.
Aided and abetted by Deignan, Landa is looking good for a big win if he maintains his form for one more day (Photo: Sirotti)
Today’s leg took the riders a whopping 204 kilometres from the Austrian town of Sillian back over the border to Italy and the town of Mezzolombardo.
The stage was characterised by a six-rider break that spent much of the day out front before being reeled in on the lower slopes of the day’s penultimate climb, the category one Fair de Paganella.
Related News
By that point, Landa was alone after all his teammates had been used up but he rode superbly and never looked in any great difficulty.
Romain Bardet (Ag2r-La Mondiale) and Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) were just some of those who tried to shake Landa but he proved equal to anything they had to offer.
He did have one scary moment on the descent to the finish when he appeared to tangle with Bora-Argon 18 man Emanuel Buchmann.
Kangert jumped away in the final kilometres to take the stage and a 10-second time bonus but Landa is still the man to beat.
Tomorrow’s stage sees the riders tackle a 160-kilometre stage from Malé to Cles and there are three categorised climbs, the last one being a nasty category one.
Another stage win for Kangert would see him take the jersey from Landa but that final ramp could be a perfect place for a late attack as it contains some pitches of 11%.
Deignan and his team mates will know there job will be to get Landa to the top of that in the best possible shape after which he’s likely to be on his own again for the final run-in for home.
It should make for a cracking final day.
Stage 3: Sillian to Mezzolombardo (204.6km)
1. Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana in 5hrs 5mins 27secs
2. Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Argon 18 at @10secs
3. Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale @s/t
4. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana @s/t
5. Sergey Firsanov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo @s/t
6. Mikel Landa (Spa) Team Sky @s/t
7. Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Argon 18 @s/t
8. Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale @s/t
9. Egan Arley Bernal (Col) Androni Giocattoli – Sidermec
10. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Ag2r La Mondiale @s/t
58. Philip Deignan (IRL) Team Sky @9:27
General Classification
1. Mikel Landa (Spa) Team Sky in 10:37:23
2. Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana @8 secs
3. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana at 10 secs
4. Sergey Firsanov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo at 15 secs
5. Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale at 20 secs
6. Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Argon 18 @s/t
7. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Ag2r La Mondiale at 24 secs
8. Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Argon 18 at 26 secs
9. Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale at 38 secs
10. Hubert Dupont (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale at 52 secs
42. Philip Deignan (IRL) Team Sky @9:55
Topics
