Philip Deignan proved to be a crucial lieutenant for Mikel Landa on the final stage of the Giro del Trentino this afternoon. The Irishman put in a remarkable shift late on, battling his way back to the front to chase down a number of dangerous attacks, in addition to setting a strong tempo (Sirotti file photo)
By Brian Canty
Mikel Landa has hailed the key role of Irishman Philip Deignan in helping him secure his first stage race win as a Team Sky rider.
The Spaniard, who joined from Astana at the end of last year, came into today’s concluding stage of the Giro del Trentino just eight seconds ahead of Tanel Kangert (Astana) and 10 seconds ahead of his teammate Jakob Fuglsang.
With 10 bonus seconds on the line for the winner – and six and four for second and third - Landa knew he had to be vigilant throughout.
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Last night, he predicted Astana would throw everything at Team Sky in a bid to wrestle the jersey back from them having won the opening stage.
And true to that, Vincenzo Nibali went up the road in a dangerous breakaway as he trailed by just 2:45.
The onus was on Team Sky to ride and they didn’t shirk that responsibility, setting a searing tempo at the front for much of the 160-kilometre stage from Malé to Cles.
One by one the men in black peeled off after doing some big pulls on the front but staying with Landa throughout the day was Deignan.
Awesome job by @PhilipDeignan. He's shut down the group ahead. Landa on his wheel #GdTM pic.twitter.com/Q48jANdmK2
— Team Sky (@TeamSky) April 22, 2016
This video shows Deignan setting a strong tempo at the front as Team Sky battle to control the race lead of Mikel Landa. The team said the Irishman had "shut down" the escapes that put Landa under pressure.
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The final climb saw the break reeled in and the real fireworks begin as Team Sky and Landa came under savage attack from those closest to him overall.
Deignan did his best for his teammate in policing matters – as did young Italian Gianni Moscon - but as the group thinned, Deignan was one of just a handful remaining.
He did lose contact for a while as the pace ramped up. But incredibly he battled his way back on to the Landa group and went straight to the front for those crucial final kilometres.
Kangert knew that to win outright he needed to take the stage and Landa needed to be outside the top three but the latter did just enough, taking four seconds for third and winning overall by two seconds.
"It was a difficult day,” said the winner. “The last climb was really hard and because of that I lost some team-mates.
“Fortunately Philip was able to give me some really good support in the final kilometres.
"I think overall my climb on stage two was key,” he added.
“I was able to make some time at the finish to take the lead and make a difference.
“We lost some time on day one in the team time trial, but we gained it all back the next day. It was a perfect Giro del Trentino for us.”
Stage 4: Malè-Cles (160.9km)
1 Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana, 4:07:29
2 Matteo Busato (Ita) Southeast-Venezuela, @s/t
3 Mikel Landa (Esp) Team Sky, @s/t
4 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana, @s/t
5 Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Argon 18, st
18 Philip Deignan (IRL) Team Sky @1:44
Final General Classification
1 Mikel Landa (Esp) Team Sky, 14:44:48
2 Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana, @2secs
3 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana, @14secs
4 Sergey Firsanov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo, @19secs
5 Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Argon 18, @24secs
18 Philip Deignan (IRL) Team Sky @11:43
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