The 104th prestigious multi-day cycling race "Giro d'Italia" is taking place in Italy these days.
The three leaders of the general classification include the Russian athlete Alexander Vlasov.
Astana-Premier Tech rider takes third place and is just 21 seconds behind the owner of the leader's pink jersey Egan Bernal from Colombia.
In his homeland, 25-year-old Vlasov is not as well known as representatives of other sports, but in the world of road cycling he made a name for himself long ago.
In 2018, Vlasov won the general classification of the youth version of the Giro d'Italia, which another Russian Pavel Sivakov did a year before.
Continuing to occupy high places in various races in the next season, the native of Vyborg in 2020 signed a contract with one of the strongest teams - Astana - and was able to make his debut on the grand tours.
In Italy, he had to withdraw from the race at the second stage due to stomach problems, but then he showed up at the Vuelta of Spain and took 11th place, which is considered a good result for a debutant.
In addition, Vlasov became the third in the youth classification.
In 2021, Vlasov already had ambitious plans. His team, named Astana-Premier Tech, chose the young Russian as their leader at the Giro d'Italia. He began to justify trust in the first races of the season, finishing third at the Tour of the Alps and second at the famous Paris-Nice - Russian racers have not been its medalists since the time of Vladislav Bobrik's silver in 1995. With this success, Vlasov confirmed that he can be considered one of the favorites of the Giro.
The Grand Tour began on 8 May with a time trial race through the streets of Turin. The Russian rider immediately showed himself well, taking 11th place 25 seconds behind the reigning world champion in this discipline Filippo Ganna from Italy. Of those who are fighting for the overall standings, Vlasov lost only to the Portuguese Juan Almeida. According to the results of the next two stages, flat and hilly, the Russian climbed to the seventh line in the general classification.
The fourth stage was the first real test for the Giro participants, and not only because of three ascents in the second half of the distance, but also because of heavy rain and wind. Vlasov did not rush forward, saving strength for real mountains, and finished at the same time as other leaders of his teams. Although he lost 1:24 to new pink jersey owner Alessandro DeMarchi from Italy, he remained the best potential Giro favorite as Almeida fell four minutes behind.
The next flat stage was not supposed to affect the course of the race, but it turned into a real test for all participants. His finish took place in the narrow and rectangular streets of the town of Cattolica, which caused several accidents. Joe Dombrowski from the United States, who took an intermediate second place, and the potential general manager Mikel Landa from Spain, and the second Russian on this stage, Sivakov, also suffered. Racer Ineos took 22nd place and was a kind of reserve in his team in case Bernal, the winner of the Tour de France 2019, could not fight for the top places. But Sivakov broke his collarbone and was forced to retire. Vlasov avoided falling and climbed to sixth place.
The sixth stage was the first, in which the finish had to be assaulted up the hill. Racers again had to fight not only with each other, but also with cold and rainy weather. Bernal decided to take advantage of this moment, organizing two attacks at the end of the race. Vlasov was able to answer the first, but not the second. However, the Russian athlete endured until the finish line and lost only 17 seconds to the Colombian. The top ten of the general classification shuffled, and Vlasov rose to fourth place, eight seconds behind Bernal. Ahead of them were the Hungarian Attila Walter and the Belgian Remko Evenepul.
The next two races did not make any changes to the top of the overall standings.
The seventh stage was flat with a common finish and should not have done so by definition.
On the eighth there were climbs, but the favorites decided to sit out in the general group and did not attack.
Vlasov finished 11th simultaneously with his main competitors and remained fourth in the total.
On the other hand, Sunday's ninth stage was already considered a mountain stage and provided good opportunities for those who want to fight for the main prize of the Giro d'Italia.
The race was rife with desperate attacks from racers hoping to gain a good position, but no one until the last kilometer was able to maintain their lead for a long time.
Vlasov decided to drive away from the general group 500 meters before the finish line, but Bernal and Italian Giulio Ciccone counterattacked him.
The Colombian continued to ride in full force and eventually won.
Vlasov and Ciccone lost only seven seconds to him, and Evenepul was three more behind.
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Walter rolled back to the end of the peloton 5 km before the finish line and was forced to part with the pink jersey, giving it to the Colombian from Ineos.
Vlasov, on the other hand, rose to third place in the overall standings.
The trio of leaders in the overall ranking also heads the youth classification.
“It was a great experience for me in this kind of final. The ascent was very difficult, especially due to the gravel area. I tried attacking at the very end, and I think it was a good attempt, but on this surface it was difficult to maintain full stability on the bike. My legs worked well, I felt pretty good, but the gravel was still a tough challenge. I am satisfied with my performance and I did everything in my power at this kind of finish. So so far so good, let's see what will happen tomorrow and after a day of rest, ”said Vlasov after the race.
Russian cyclists have not become prize-winners of the Giro d'Italia since the moment Denis Menshov won in 2009. And on the grand tours, Ilnur Zakarin was the last to climb the podium, taking third place at the Vuelta de España in 2017. So far, Vlasov claims to achieve the loudest success in Russian cycling over the past four years. There are 12 more stages ahead of him and the rest of the Giro participants, including five mountain stages. On May 30, the race will end with a time trial race in Milan.