Fernando Gaviria won the thirteenth stage of the Giro d’Italia today and in doing so, became the first rider since Bernard Hinault at the 1978 Tour de France to notch four stage successes on his Grand Tour debut. In addition, he has become the Colombian rider with the most stage wins at the Giro d’Italia.
Victory today looked out of reach for Gaviria in the closing metres, as he had to come from a long way back to edge past his rivals for the win. A tricky left-hand bend with 450 metres remaining turned the bunch sprint into a messy affair, but despite not being in the best position, Gaviria unleashed an incredible acceleration on the final straight and hit a peak power of 1478W, which resulted into a 72.8 km/h top speed that catapulted the South American to another outstanding and exciting victory, ahead of Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo).
“Having this record doesn’t mean much for me. What is important is that it underlines the fact that I came well-prepared to the Giro d’Italia. At the same time, I am happy to take so many victories and have the maglia ciclamino going into the penultimate week-end of the race, especially as many Colombians, from fans to important athletes, came here to watch me. That really means a lot”, said Gaviria at the press conference.
The 22-year-old, who increased his lead in the points classification, analysed the chaotic sprint in Tortona, where the Corsa Rosa returned for the first time in 28 years: “The sprint was fast and tense, but sprints are always like that. To be honest, in those moments, with 400 meters left, I didn’t think I still had a chance of winning, but I decided to just give everything I had and see how things go. I think there were around 13 or 15 riders in front of me, and to take the victory after such a sprint it’s something special. I want to thank my team for helping me pull it off also today, the guys were incredible once again!”
