Another win for EF at the Giro
Jonathan Caicedo (EF Pro Cycling) was the first to cross the finish line on Mount Etna and now Ruben Guerreiro won from a breakaway at stage nine. It looks like EF Pro Cycling’s new (and a bit wild) kit is a lucky one. Guerreiro survived Mikkel Bjerg’s attack and then held on to Jonathan Castroviejo’s wheel, proving to be stronger at the end of stage 9. The Portuguese denied the Spaniard a third win for Ineos in Italy and finished a dream opening week for EF Pro Cycling.
Almeida hangs on
Another Portuguese is making his mark on the Italian Grand Tour. João Almeida has worn the maglia rosa the longest of any rider from Portugal. He did lose 18 seconds to Wilco Kelderman but he is still enjoying a healthy 30-second lead over the Team Sunweb’s star. How long will he last? It’s hard to say but he should be fine until the stage 14 time trial.
Geraint Thomas (Team Ineos) is out due to the collision with a stray bidon and a subsequent pelvis fracture. Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) tested positive for Covid-19. It’s hard to say who will win in the end. Who do you think it will be?
One man who would very much like to win is Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe). He came to the Giro with big expectations. So far, however, he’s been denied victory three times by Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ). Can he turn it around?
General classification after stage 9
1. João Almeida (Deceuninck–Quick-Step) – 35:35:50
2. Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb) + 30 s
3. Pello Bilbao (Bahrain-McLaren) + 39 s
4. Domenico Pozzovivo (NTT) + 53 s
5. Vincenzo Nibali (Trek-Segafredo) + 57 s
6. Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) + 1:01
7. Harm Vanhoucke (Lotto-Soudal) + 1:02
8. Patrick Konrad (Bora-Hansgrohe) + 1:11
9. Jai Hindley (Team Sunweb) + 1:15
10. Rafał Majka (Bora-Hansgrohe) + 1:17
