Nicolas Roche has finished 3rd on today's stage 18 at the Giro d'Italia after proving among the strongest men off the front of the large breakaway in the finale.
The Team DSM Irishman was on the attack repeatedly off the front of the group but eventual winner Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-Nippo) just had a little too much for him on the final small climb of the day.
Both Roche the Bettiol had forged clear of the breakaway in pursuit of lone attacker Rémi Cavagna (Deceuninck-QuickStep). As they closed on the French rider, who had also been in the stage-long breakaway, Bettiol distanced Roche.
And when the Italian caught Cavagna it looked possible they would play cat and mouse and Roche could get back to them, as he was just seconds behind.
Advertisement
However, before they reached the top of the fourth climb packed into the final 35km, Cavagna cracked and Bettiol rode away from him. Roche then caught and passed Cavagna on the climb. And when he crested that hill, with just under 10km to go to the finish, he could see Bettiol just up the road.
Related News
However, the Italian flew down the climb into the finish, with Roche at 17 seconds. Bettiol took the stage victory, just his third win as a pro. Right before the line, Simone Consonni (Cofidis) got away from a small group that was just behind Roche.
Consonni caught the Irishman and stole 2nd place from him, though Roche held off the riders behind and took 3rd place. His fast-finishing team mate, Nikias Arndt, was in 4th at the end of 231km stage from Rovereto to Stradella.
Bettiol won it very well, taking the victory by 17 seconds from Consonni, with Roche and Arndt, and the next four riders home, all on the same time. Roche, who had been one of the key figures animating the finale in the attacks off the front of the breakaway, was the first to go to Bettiol and congratulate him.
Roche had been distanced initially by Bettiol on the penultimate climb but got back up to him with a huge effort. They then set off in pursuit of Cavagna, with the rest of the breakaway men split into a number of groups just behind them.
The breakaway men mopped up the first 23 placings on the stage and were spread over 10 minutes, such was the damage the hilly finale inflicted. The peloton, containing all of the main favourites, was 23:30 down on Bettiol, with Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) in that bunch.
More to come.
Topics
