On Thursday Fabio Aru (Astana) crossed the finish line with a grimace on his face after losing time to Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo). Twenty-four hours later the battle for the pink jersey had flipped yet again after a high-speed crash 3.2km from the finish in Jesolo. Contador was delayed, losing 40 seconds, and so Aru pulled on the maglia rosa.
Aru celebrated on the podium but continued to warn that the Giro d'Italia only ends in Milan on May 31, knowing that Contador is likely to take back pink in Saturday's 59.4km time trial, while he could suffer and lose several minutes. However for now, his grimace was replaced by a smile as he became the first Sardinian rider to ever pull on the maglia rosa.
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Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.
