Polijanski
After a hard day on the first mountain stage, today’s profile would have been a welcome sight for riders. While the 211km stage started with a second category climb, the remainder of the route was relatively flat, with a lot of the course running gently downhill. Yesterday’s uphill finish gave way today to a flat run to the end of the stage, meaning this would be one for the sprinters.
While the stage was marked as one that would likely finish as a bunch sprint, this didn’t stop an early breakaway going for glory. Jay McCarthy joined an early attack with two others, but the pace in the peloton was already very fast, with riders dropping off the back even at this early stage of the race. Despite building a lead of up to a minute, Jay and his group were soon reeled back in before the top of the Svolte di Popoli climb.
From the finish, Sport Director, Tristan Hoffman, gave an insight into how the stage unfolded. “From the gun after 11km we had a second category climb and Jay was there in a small break, but behind the bunch went full gas, which caught them and also split the peloton. The front group was down to about 50 riders but Rafal was here with three or four teammates so we were in a good situation. It was also good to see Jay try to take his chances.”
The front split wasn’t in a mood to hang around as it continued to press on at the front of the race before eventually another break went clear – this time a group of six. This was to be the day’s breakaway, building an advantage of 2’30” after 90km of racing. The gap remained slim as the run in to the fourth category Valico della Somma gave the sprinters a chance to rejoin the peloton, having been left behind on the earlier climb. Hoffman was pleased with how the team worked together to regroup and stay together when the peloton began to split. “After the descent a break went and everything came back together, but it was good to see the boys stayed together and when it split we had numbers there.”
On the descent of the stage’s last climb, one of the breakaway, with just under 30km left to race, attacked to go clear, shortly before the remainder of the break was swallowed up by the chasing peloton. While a brave effort, the break was pulled in 7.5km before the finish, and the sprinters’ teams began jostling for position at the front of the peloton. While the aim wasn’t to contest the sprint, Tinkoff jerseys were there at the front, ensuring Rafal Majka was delivered to the finish safely. The Tinkoff leader was the first home in 30th position, along with Pawel Poljanski and Ivan Rovny, in 31st and 38th respectively, with the same time as the bunch.
Hoffman was happy with the day’s outcome after a fast-paced end to the stage. “The final climb was quite steady and not a lot happened there – the pace was high but it didn’t cause any problems and after that the roads were wide on the run to the finish. They stayed at the front and out of trouble then towards the final they spent some energy to keep Rafal at the front. All in all I’m happy with how the stage went.”
The team’s leader, Rafal Majka, was pleased too with how the race panned out. “It was a long and tough stage where we had to be focused at all times. Still, the squad did a great job in bringing me safely in the main group. It was important to stay safe and avoid losing time to the main GC contenders. I’d like to thank them for their efforts not only today but throughout the first seven stages of the Giro. I feel in good shape but we still have a long way until the finish in Turin.”
Tomorrow sees the Giro take on another flat stage for the majority before a sting in the tail. While the riders will have a fairly easy start to the 186km route, the second category Alpe di Poti has the potential to tear the stage apart, falling 20km from the finish and with a fast run in afterwards, while the gravel sector will create a challenge for riders in staying upright. A sharp 11% climb in the last kilometre may still catch riders out, creating an opportunity for a shake-up of the GC standings. As Hoffman explained from the finish, the stage is not without its challenges. “We’ve got a serious climb in the finale with some gravel roads. We will see if we try to put somebody in the break tomorrow – I believe it will be another GC test tomorrow. The gravel roads will be very tough if the weather isn’t good but I believe Rafal is more than ready as is the rest of the team.”
Stage Result
1. Andre Greipel (GER) Lotto-Soudal 05:01:08
2. Giacomo Nizzolo (ITA) Trek-Segafredo +00:00:00
3. Sacha Modolo (ITA) Lampre-Merida +00:00:00
4. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Orica-GreenEdge +00:00:00
5. Enrico Battaglin (ITA) Team Lotto NL-Jumbo +00:00:00
30. Rafal Majka (POL) Tinkoff +00:00:00
31. Pawel Poljanski (POL) Tinkoff +00:00:00
38. Ivan Rovny (RUS) Tinkoff +00:00:00
69. Pavel Brutt (RUS) Tinkoff +00:00:09
92. Evgeny Petrov (RUS) Tinkoff +00:00:35
98. Manuele Boaro (ITA) Tinkoff +00:01:21
99. Matteo Tosatto (ITA) Tinkoff +00:01:21
149. Jesus Hernandez (SPA) Tinkoff +00:02:54
153. Jay McCarthy (AUS) Tinkoff +00:02:54
GC After Stage 7
1. Tom Dumoulin (NED) Team Giant-Alpecin 29:23:23
2. Jakob Fuglsang (DEN) Astana Pro Team +00:00:26
3. Ilnur Zakarin (RUS) Team Katusha +00:00:28
4. Bob Jungels (LUX) Etixx-Quick Step +00:00:35
5. Steven Kruiswijk (NED) Team Lotto NL-Jumbo +00:00:38
12. Rafal Majka (POL) Tinkoff +00:00:56
32. Pawel Poljanski (POL) Tinkoff +00:03:37
46. Evgeny Petrov (RUS) Tinkoff +00:09:38
50. Ivan Rovny (RUS) Tinkoff +00:11:22
77. Jay McCarthy (AUS) Tinkoff +00:20:18
82. Manuele Boaro (ITA) Tinkoff +00:21:43
103. Pavel Brutt (RUS) Tinkoff +00:26:14
118. Jesus Hernandez (SPA) Tinkoff +00:28:34
121. Matteo Tosatto (ITA) Tinkoff +00:30:11
