Giro d’Italia – Amore infinito
Gualdo Tadino, May 15th– Stage 10; Penne – Gualdo Tadino –244 km
In the longest stage of this year’s Giro d’Italia (Penne-Gualdo Tadino 244km), Team BAHRAIN MERIDA rider Matej Mohorič out-sprints Nico Denz taking stage 10 win.
“It’s such a special day” exults the young Slovenian rider. Not only special, but perfect too, because Matej didn’t make any mistake today. He was in the break that went clear just after the start, then when the peloton caught them, he supported his captain Domenico Pozzovivo and in the final, he asked his permission for trying again and going for the stage win. With his amazing descender’s skill he built his masterpiece, that he completed in Gualdo Tadino’s finish beating Nico Denz (AG2r La Mondiale) in a two-rider sprint.
“It was a very long and tough stage. I marked in red it when I saw the route of this year’s Giro” explains Mohorič speaking about today’s course, featuring lots of hilly sections and total elevation of 3.000 m. It crossed the Apennines from the south to the north, following a tortuous route dotted with short, uncomplicated ascents, including three categorizeed climbs. The first one (almost 20km long) features a first-ever pass over one of the sides of the Gran Sasso. The route eventually levels out in the final section.
“We planned to go in the break of the day and I tried at the start with a group of seventeen riders, but then when the peloton saw that Esteban Chaves dropped, they began the chase full gas. In the final I still felt great and I asked to Pozzovivo the permission to go. It was quite hard and I was not so confident to be able to win, but I’m tried my best in the final sprint. I did it and I’m super happy for me and for Team BAHRAIN MERIDA. A stage win was one of the aim here at the Giro, together with the General Classification. Now I will focus on helping our leader Domenico in the next days”.
Domenico Pozzovivo finished safely in the bunch and due to Chaves’ bad day, he jumped to 4th place in the overall standing, 1 minute down the Maglia Rosa Simon Yates.
