Get Instant News Updates
Enable
x
Notification Settings X
Time Settings
Done
Clear Notification X
Do you want to clear all the notifications from your inbox?
Settings X
For Quick Alerts
ALLOW NOTIFICATIONS  
For Daily Alerts

Giro d'Italia: Guerreiro climbs to victory on memorable day for Portugal

Ruben Guerreiro won stage nine of the Giro d'Italia in miserable conditions and Joao Almeida kept the maglia rosa on a memorable day for Portuguese cycling.

By Peter Thompson
Ruben Guerreiro

Roccaraso, October 11: Ruben Guerreiro won stage nine of the Giro d'Italia in miserable conditions and Joao Almeida kept the maglia rosa on a memorable day for Portuguese cycling.

Guerreiro had enough in the tank at the end of a 208-kilometre route from San Salvo to Roccaraso to sprint away from Jonathan Castroviejo for a maiden Grand Tour stage victory.

The 26-year-old takes over as the leader of the king of the mountains battle and is only the second rider from Portugal to win a Giro stage, Acacio Da Silva having crossed the line first five times in the 1980s.

Giro d'Italia: Yates withdrawn after testing positive for COVID-19Giro d'Italia: Yates withdrawn after testing positive for COVID-19

Guerreiro secured EF Pro Cycling's second stage win of the 2020 edition of the race, having been among five breakaway riders in the rain on Sunday.

He reacted when Castroviejo went on the attack and had the pace to go clear of the INEOS Grenadiers rider in an uphill finish after a tough final climb of almost 10km and won by a margin of eight seconds.

Mikkel Bjerg was third, finishing 58 seconds after Guerreiro, with Kilian Frankiny and Larry Warbasse completing the top five.

Guerreiro's compatriot Almeida continues to lead the race, but his advantage was reduced to 30 seconds.

Wilco Kelderman is up to second behind Deceuninck-Quick-Step's Almeida, who started the day with an advantage of 43 seconds over Pello Bilbao (Bahrain-McLaren).

Bilbao gained four seconds on Almeida, who will no doubt be ready for a day off on Monday, the first rest day.

STAGE RESULT

1. Ruben Guerreiro (EF Pro Cycling) 05:41:20 2. Jonathan Castroviejo (INEOS Grenadiers) +00:08 3. Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates) +00:58 4. Kilian Frankiny (Groupama–FDJ) 01:16 5. Larry Warbasse (AG2R La Mondiale) 01:16

CLASSIFICATION STANDING

General Classification 1. Joao Almeida (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) 35:35:50 2. Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb) +00:30 3. Pello Bilbao (Bahrain-McLaren) +00:39

Points Classification 1. Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) 167 2. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) 110 3. Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb) 87

King of the Mountains 1. Ruben Guerreiro (EF Pro Cycling) 84 2. Giovanni Visconti (Vini Zabu-Brado-KTM) 76 3.Jonathan Castroviejo (INEOS Grenadiers) 45

WHAT'S NEXT?

A rest day awaits the riders on Monday before they take on a 177km 10th stage from Lanciano to Tortoreto, with five sharp ascents to come in the final 65km.

Story first published: Sunday, October 11, 2020, 21:11 [IST]
Other articles published on Oct 11, 2020