Courmayeur (Italy) (AFP)
A troublemaker from Central America: the Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz, came to intervene in the duel between the Slovenian Primoz Roglic and the Italian Vincenzo Nibali in the Giro, seizing the pink jersey, Saturday in Courmayeur .
Winner alone in the 14th stage, Carapaz took almost two minutes to the favorites of the Giro who arrived together at the foot of Mont Blanc. With a tiny advantage for Nibali, who nibbled four seconds of bonus by taking third place.
The "Messina Shark" attacked Roglic in the San Carlo, a large pass near Little St. Bernard. Without being able to surprise him, no more in the climb (10.5 km to 9.8%) than in the descent.
"Roglic was very solid", could only see the Italian who had gritted his teeth the day before by attacking the passivity of Slovenian Lake Serru.
This time, Roglic, who has never teamed up in the final mountain stages, collaborated a little more. "In his own way," said Nibali. Whenever Roglic moved past in the chase group, Carapaz widened the gap, said Paolo Slongo, the sports director of Nibali. History of maintaining tension around the number one favorite.
Previously, the Slovenian, with the unflappable coolness, had replied: "I have no comment to make, nor judgment to bear, I concentrate on myself." So true is it that he has fired without injury until now from the mountain.
Roglic, who felt the need to relax in the Courmayeur final, was he able to ride faster? In this short (131 km) but intense stage, he mainly managed the situation. In the end, he let Carapaz take on the pink jersey for 7 seconds, a trifle.
- The pincers of the Movistar team -
"I did what was planned," welcomed the new wearer of the pink jersey, which ranked 6th out of Saint-Vincent. Although he enjoyed a margin of maneuver, he remains able to widen the gap on the steep slopes of the San Carlo, after his attack carried less than 3 kilometers from the summit.
In the long descent to Courmayeur, Carapaz, a good specialist, kept his lead of thirty seconds. He increased his advantage in the last kilometers of a climb to the benefit of the wait-and-see attitude of his pursuers, with the notable exception of Briton Simon Yates, who was less worried than the day before.
Yates, who tried to attack from the start, is however far in the standings, more than five minutes. Unlike the Spaniard Mikel Landa (5th at 2 min 50 sec), leader of the Movistar team before the takeover of Carapaz.
With Landa, who is already on the podium of the Giro (3rd in 2015), and Carapaz, close to access last year (4th), the Spanish team is able to take Roglic and Nibali in the grips. third and final week of the race. A condition of playing fair.
Sunday, on the eve of the second day of rest, the 15th stage takes the final of the Tour of Lombardy, the classic won twice by Nibali.
The 232-kilometer route passes the Madonna del Ghisallo, the cycling sanctuary, then the Colma di Sormano and especially the Civiglio, whose descent immediately precedes the arrival on the shores of Lake Como.
? 2019 AFP