If he was omnipresent in this stage transformed into a mini-classic of 135 kilometers, van der Poel failed to win.

Victory went to the experienced De Gendt (35), ten years after his first success in the Giro when he won at the top of the Stelvio and took third place in the final classification.

For the general classification, the candidates remained in expectation on the eve of the key stage of the first week.

With the sole exception of Guillaume Martin, present in the breakaway of the day and author of a reclassification operation which he had already succeeded in last year on the Tour de France and on the Vuelta.

The French took three minutes from his direct rivals and jumped from 28th to … 4th place in the standings.

1 min 06 sec from the wearer of the pink jersey, the Spaniard Juan Pedro Lopez, who kept his property despite an attempt by his runner-up, the German Lennard Kämna (at 38 sec), in the last climb.

At the front, van der Poel, apparently the strong man of the breakaway with the Eritrean Biniam Girmay, blasted the strong group of about twenty units at the entrance of the last 50 kilometers.

But +VDP+, watched very closely by Girmay and the Swiss Mauro Schmid, had to let go of a quartet comprising two riders from the same team (De Gendt, Vanhoucke) who were able to keep the advantage until the finish despite a last attempt of the inevitable van der Poel.

Juan Pedro Lopez riding with the peloton, kept the pink jersey of leader of the Giro in Naples, May 14, 2022 Luca Bettini AFP

The challenge of the Blockhouse

"I was working for Harm Vanhoucke so he could attack on the climb, but he said he didn't have good legs anymore. In the last three kilometers I told him to go hard and that I I was sure to win the sprint", explained De Gendt about the tactics followed against their last two companions, the Italian Davide Gabburo and the Spaniard Jorge Arcas, with no victory list.

The Belgian, one of the 21 active riders to have won at least one stage in the three Grand Tours (France, Italy, Spain), is also the man for great occasions.

Even if his two successes on the Tour were somewhat overshadowed.

In 2016, he won the Ventoux stage, the day Chris Froome fell (running on foot in search of his bike).

Three years later, his victorious breakaway in Saint-Etienne coincided with the coup de force of Julian Alaphilippe and Thibaut Pinot in the final.

Lotto rider Thomas De Gendt winner of the 8th stage of the Tour of Italy in Naples, May 14, 2022 Luca Bettini AFP

If the stage turned out to be spectacular but without any real consequence on the hierarchy of the Giro, the route served as a tourist showcase for the Neapolitan region illuminated by the sun, on the circuit of Monte di Proceda, west of the large port of Campania, stage city for the 43rd time in the history of the Giro,

Sunday, the challenge is of any other dimension in the 9th stage, 191 kilometers long until the finish judged at 1,665 meters above sea level.

Three climbs are included in the first 40 kilometers and the Blockhaus is climbed twice, the first time up to passo Lanciano (10.3 km at 7.6%), the second time after a small loop over the entire climb and on a different road (13.6 km at 8.4%).

© 2022 AFP