Team Lampre-Merida’s rider claimed a strong win in Praia a Mare with a wonderful solo-attempt in the finale of the stage 4.
As the 99th Giro d’Italia landed in the “Belpaese” after the opening weekend in the Netherlands, achieved the very first win in Grand Tours. Italian Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida) claimed his fifth success in the “Corsa Rosa” with a wonderful solo-attempt in the finale of the stage 4 (Catanzaro – Praia a Mare 200 Km), on Tuesday May 10th, preceding Dutchmen Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin), new overall leader, and Steven Kruijswijk (Team LottoNL – Jumbo) at the finish line.
Team Lampre-Merida, entirely equipped with Extreme shoes, moved on the attack with 20 Km to go, as the tough finale tailor-made for Ulissi. The only Italian World Tour team launched the first attempt with Valerio Conti, opening the way for the decisive attack of the 26-year-old Tuscan rider which maintained a slight margin over the chasing group in the last kilometers.
“I’m really happy because we did a great job as a team,” the winner said. – “How Valerio Conti dragged the attack away was unbelievable. I did the best effort over the climb cause I was afraid to be caught on the descent. When I looked around close to the finish line, I realised I’d got it. It’s a special moment for me.”
Ulissi also took the third overall place, with the same time of runner-up Bob Jungels (Etixx-QuickStep), 0:20 behind leader Tom Dumoulin, in view of tomorrow’s stage 5, Wednesday March 11th (Praia a Mare – Benevento 233 Km) fitting for sprinters.
Onigo di Pederobba (Italy), May 10th, 2016
