The Frenchman of the Cofidis goes on the break together with nine other riders and in the final he has more than all. On the podium Gavazzi and Arndt. The Australian gives up with a pain in his knee.
Victor Lafay alone wins the eighth stage of the Giro d’Italia, the 170 km Foggia-Guardia Sanframondi. The Frenchman of Cofidis imposes himself with a 35 ” advantage over the blue Francesco Gavazzi (Eolo-Kometa). Attila Valter (Groupama-FDJ) from Hungary retains the pink jersey as leader of the general classification. Tomorrow the ninth fraction, starting from Castel di Sangro and arriving uphill in Campo Felice after 158 km.
Victor Lafay alone wins the eighth stage of the Giro d’Italia, the 170 km Foggia-Guardia Sanframondi. The Frenchman of Cofidis imposes himself with a 35 ” advantage over the blue Francesco Gavazzi (Eolo-Kometa). Attila Valter (Groupama-FDJ) from Hungary retains the pink jersey as leader of the general classification. Tomorrow the ninth fraction, starting from Castel di Sangro and arriving uphill in Campo Felice after 158 km.
EWAN’S RETREAT AND THE ESCAPE— The first 65 km are characterized by many attacks and counter-attacks, with the group remaining compact. The twist concerns Caleb Ewan who, struggling with a pain in his knee, stops while walking through a tunnel and retires from a Giro in which he was a great protagonist (he had already won two sprints, his cyclamen jersey goes to Merlier). Immediately afterwards, the breakaway is finally formed, with nine riders – Gougeard, Carboni, Oliveira (in theory the most feared climber), Lafay, Gavazzi, Gossens, Arndt, Gaviria and Campenaerts – accumulating more than 7 ‘ahead of the pink jersey group . At km 84 the Colombian Gaviria first crosses the flying finish line of Campobasso, then the 18.9 km uphill leading to the GPM of Bocca della Selva. The winner is Kobe Gossens, while Ganna, Nizzolo, Bennet and Yates are victims of mechanical problems.
THE WINNING COMING OF LAFAY— A very long descent follows that ends practically 10 km from the finish, when the road starts to rise again. Among the nine on the run, Gaviria tries the attack, but falls immediately afterwards and then manages to hook up with the other eight fugitives (he will not make it, however, to participate in the sprint). Inside the town of Guardia Sanframondi the first attacks among the nine fleeing. Campenaerts crosses the flying finish line of Castelvenere first and leaves with Carboni. At -3 km, when the latter seemed to have more than the Belgian, he was reached and overtaken by a great Lafay, who passed both and went on to win the stage in front of Gavazzi (seventh second place for an Italian in the first eight stages), Arndt and Oliveira. Gianni Moscon’s great pace in the group, reducing the platoon to about 20 riders. Pello Bilbao and Matteo Fabbro join forces, both on the ground. Attila Valter is keeping well, who will be able to live another day in the pink jersey tomorrow.
Quotes from the stage winner and the Maglia Rosa
Speaking seconds after the stage finish, the stage winner Victor Lafay said: “I spent a lot of energy already in the first part of the stage to get into the breakaway. There were several attempts but the peloton didn’t leave much space. Then finally the breakaway went clear. Once the gap started to increase I was able to recover some energy. In the finale of the stage, there were several attacks. I attacked in the last few kilometers and saw that no one was following me. I cannot believe it, I have just won a stage at the Giro!”
The Maglia Rosa Attila Valter said: “It was a perfect day for me and for the team. Once the break went clear, we tried not to take any risks. It’s amazing to see all my teammates working for me and it’s fantastic to be able to wear the Maglia Rosa for another day.“
STAGE RESULTS
1 – Victor Lafay (Cofidis) – 170 km in 4h06’47”, average speed 41.332 km/h
2 – Francesco Gavazzi (Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team) at 36”
3 – Nikias Arndt (Team DSM) at 37”
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1 – Attila Valter (Groupama – FDJ)
2 – Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) at 11”
3 – Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) at 16”
