Foligno (Italy) (AFP)

Teamwork: Peter Sagan, transformed into a scorer, won Monday in Foligno the 10th stage of the Giro d'Italia, increasingly marked by the duel between the Colombian Egan Bernal, in pink, and the Belgian Remco Evenepoel.

Two sprints animated this transition stage, on the eve of the rest day.

The first concerned the favorites 18 kilometers from the finish, to the benefit of Evenepoel who nibbled 1 second to the wearer of the pink jersey.

The second was played between the sprinters who had survived a hilly course on the roads of green Umbria, in the center of the peninsula.

"I would like to thank all my teammates, they did a remarkable job".

The recurring sentence of the winners is this time fully justified as the men of the Bora team (Fabbro and Aleotti especially) worked hard to distance Sagan's usual rivals before the last 40 kilometers.

Rid of several of his adversaries (Groenewegen, Merlier, Nizzolo), discouraged by the fast pace, Sagan had however to negotiate a tortuous final in Foligno, the city of Umbria where the first book in the Italian language was printed in the 15th century. , Dante's Divine Comedy.

Colombian Juan Sebastian Molano, leading the last corner in the 250 meters, thought he was starting the sprint for his compatriot Fernando Gaviria.

But it was the Slovak who emerged in his wake to win in the 10th stage, just like last year during his first participation in the Giro, and put on the cyclamen jersey for the points classification.

"I've been a bit unlucky so far," said the former three-time world champion, who now has 117 wins to his name.

In Termoli, last Friday, he was stuck along the barriers in a sprint dominated by Caleb Ewan.

- Ewan justifies himself -

In the meantime, the Australian left the Giro through the back door while wearing the cyclamen jersey.

For knee pain, according to his Lotto team's explanation.

The abandonment of Ewan, who has never finished the Tour of Italy in his four participations since 2016, was castigated by Eddy Merckx.

"His abandonment is a total lack of professionalism and respect for the Giro", cracked the Belgian legend in the newspaper Het Nieuwsblad.

The Australian, whose big goal for the year is to win a stage in the three big tours (Giro, Tour de France, Vuelta), justified Monday on his Twitter account: "Once the pain will be completely left, I will resume my training to prepare for the Tour. I'm sorry that people think I disrespected the race. If you had seen my work and my commitment to honor the Giro, I'm sure you would think differently. I'm more disappointed than anyone. "

In the race, Bernal and Evenepoel, the first to place themselves in position, worked for the bonuses of an intermediate sprint (3, 2 and 1 sec to the first three).

In this game, the Belgian got ahead of the Colombian before the two favorites of the race, lavish of their efforts in a long term race, shake hands after this heat stroke in the small city of Campello sul Clitunno, near Spoleto.

"I only took a second but it took no effort," assured Bernal, with a 14-second lead in the standings for the first scheduled rest day on Tuesday.

© 2021 AFP