Giro d'Italia 2018: Rest Day 3 Recap
Simon Yates stamps his authority in the second week of the corsa rosa
The second week of the Giro d'Italia saw Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) confirm his status as the strongest rider in the race and strengthen his grip on the maglia rosa with two further stage victories and second place on Monte Zoncolan.
It was a meant to be a week filled with intermediate and sprint stages, ahead of a mountainous weekend billing, but the drama came early on Tuesday's mammoth 244km rolling stage from Penne to Gualdo Tadino, where Yates' teammate Esteban Chaves was unceremoniously dumped out of the general classification contest. Having perhaps misjudged the rest day, Chaves, who was second overall, was dropped on the early climb of Fonte della Creta and eventually lost 25 minutes after a protracted and ultimately futile chase. Once the dust had settled, Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Merida) broke free of the reduced peloton and dispatched Nico Denz (AG2R La Mondiale) in a two-up sprint.
The following stage featured an uphill finale in Osimo, and Yates once again showed his rivals a clean pair of heels. Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) held him in a dramatic pursuit but Yates clung on for his second stage win. The time gaps were small but Yates' display was once again significant.
The long stage to the Imola racing circuit on Wednesday started out quietly enough but intensified in the final hour thanks to driving rain and wind. The bunch split in the finale, leaving Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors) out of the equation and the door open for Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe), who seized the moment with a spectacular long-range effort on the F1 track. Viviani would have his revenge a day later as he triumphed in a more traditional bunch sprint in Nervesa della Battaglia.
Saturday saw the stage everyone had been waiting for, finishing atop the fearsome Monte Zoncolan, widely billed as the hardest climb in Europe. It turned out to be the scene of a remarkable resurgence from Chris Froome (Team Sky), who attacked with 4.3km to go and soloed all the way to the top. Yates soon attacked himself and was bearing down on his compatriot throughout the final kilometre, and although he was unable to make the catch and claim the stage win, he put time into his direct rivals, with Dumoulin and Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) finishing a little behind Domenico Pozzovivo (Bahrain-Merida) and Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana).
Sunday saw a more subtle - but still very hilly - stage in the Dolomites, with four categorised climbs ahead of the uphill finish to Sappada. Yates became the first rider since 2003 to win three stages in pink as he left his rivals for dead on the final climb, finishing 41 seconds ahead of an uncooperative chase group of Dumoulin, Pozzovivo, Pinot, Lopez, and Richard Carapaz. Froome's resurgence proved a false dawn; the Sky rider was dropped just before Yates' attack and eventually lost 1:30.
Stage 10: Penne - Gualdo Tadino, 244km
Winner: Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Merida)
Leader: Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott)
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
- Giro d'Italia 2018: Stage 10 report
- Giro d'Italia 2018: Stage 10 highlights - Video
- Giro d'Italia 2018: Stage 10 finish line quotes
- Simon Yates: I'm very disappointed for Esteban
- Chaves: We've still got to understand my problems
- Tom Dumoulin survives Giro d'Italia crash to move up to second overall
- Chris Froome 'feeling better' after tough Giro d'Italia stage
- White: We're still trying to win the Giro d'Italia
- Chaves' Giro d'Italia setback: 'We have not got an answer'
- Contador: Froome and Aru can no longer win the Giro d'Italia
Stage 11: Assisi - Osimo, 156km
Winner: Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott)
Leader: Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott)
- Giro d'Italia 2018: Stage 11 report
- Giro d'Italia 2018: Stage 11 highlights - Video
- Giro d'Italia 2018: Stage 11 finish line quotes
- Simon Yates: My Everest is next week's time trial
- Giro d'Italia: Dumoulin stays within touching distance of Simon Yates
- Chris Froome determined to keep plugging away in Giro d'Italia
- Giro d'Italia: Woods suffers illness, crashes but battles on
- Giro d'Italia GC analysis: Simon Yates and Dumoulin a step ahead in Osimo
Stage 12: Osimo - Imola, 214km
Winner: Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe)
Leader: Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott)
- Giro d'Italia 2018: Stage 12 report
- Giro d'Italia 2018: Stage 12 highlights - Video
- Giro d'Italia 2018: Stage 12 finish line quotes
- Giro d'Italia: Rain, punishing finale put GC contenders on the defensive in Imola
- Sam Bennett goes the distance to double up at Giro d'Italia
- Giro d'Italia: Viviani keeps points jersey despite bad day in the rain
- Haig relishes supporting role at Giro d'Italia
- Simon Yates: There are no easy days here at the Giro d'Italia
Stage 13: Ferrara - Nervesa della Battaglia, 180km
Winner: Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors)
Leader: Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott)
- Giro d'Italia 2018: Stage 13 report
- Giro d'Italia 2018: Stage 13 highlights - Video
- Giro d'Italia 2018: Stage 13 finish line quotes
- Viviani: I don't like to be judged so easily
- Wellens abandons Giro d’Italia due to illness
- The Zoncolan is a 'different beast' but Simon Yates is undaunted
- Just go as hard as you can: Tom Dumoulin takes on the Zoncolan
- Chris Froome: It's a brutal final up the Zoncolan
Stage 14: San Vito al Tagliamento - Monte Zoncolan, 186km
Winner: Chris Froome (Team Sky)
Leader: Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott)
- Giro d'Italia 2018: Stage 14 report
- Giro d'Italia 2018: Stage 14 highlights - Video
- Giro d'Italia 2018: Stage 14 finish line quotes
- Chris Froome: I'm going to keep racing as hard all the way to Rome
- Tom Dumoulin: It's going to be difficult to win the Giro d'Italia
- Simon Yates: It's not enough for me to win the Giro d'Italia
- Poels inspires Froome's resurrection at the Giro d'Italia
- Woods: If you don't try you're never going to win
- Saturday in Hell: Monte Zoncolan leaves its mark on the Giro d'Italia
Stage 15: Tolmezzo - Sappada, 176km
Winner: Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott)
Leader: Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott)
- Giro d'Italia 2018: Stage 15 report
- Giro d'Italia 2018: Stage 15 highlights - Video
- Giro d'Italia 2018: Stage 15 finish line quotes
- Simon Yates: The finale was the hardest 15km of my life
- Tom Dumoulin: Simon Yates is just too strong for me at the moment
- Giro d'Italia: Chris Froome pays for Monte Zoncolan effort at Sappada
- Giro d'Italia: Aru rides to a standstill while Pozzovivo carries Italian hopes
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Simon Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott | 65:57:37 |
2 | Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Sunweb | 0:02:11 |
3 | Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | 0:02:28 |
4 | Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | 0:02:37 |
5 | Miguel Angel Lopez (Col) Astana Pro Team | 0:04:27 |
6 | Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Movistar Team | 0:04:47 |
7 | Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky | 0:04:52 |
8 | George Bennett (NZl) LottoNL-Jumbo | 0:05:34 |
9 | Pello Bilbao (Spa) Astana Pro Team | 0:05:59 |
10 | Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:06:13 |