Gianluca Brambilla took the biggest win of his career today as he soloed to victory in stage 8 of the Giro d’Italia, a performance which took him to the top of the general classification.
The victory made up for the disappointment of last season, when the Italian was forced to miss his home race due to a broken collarbone, which he suffered just a couple of weeks before the start.
After the flag was dropped, Brambilla was the first to attack and opened a small gap before being joined by 12 riders, including teammate and fellow countryman Matteo Trentin.
The presence of the Paris-Tours winner in the escape was really helpful for Brambi, as Trentin put in a fantastic amount of work at the head of the group, thus ensuring an advantage of four minutes at the foot of the Alpe di Poti, a climb with 6.4 kilometres of gravel roads.
Giacomo Berlato (Nippo-Vini Fantini), Matteo Montaguti (AG2R) and Alessandro De Marchi (BMC) were the first to attack and get a gap, as Brambilla – third in Strade Bianche earlier this year – kept his composure and patiently waited for the sterrato and the 10% ramps to launch his move.
On that section, he powered away, caught the three and distanced them in the blink of an eye, opening a 30-second on Montaguti, the only one who tried to get in his wheel. Further back, the peloton was disintegrating and among those to suffer was also race leader Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin), who lost contact with the other GC favourites.
After the top of the second-category climb, Brambilla continued to push hard and to increase his advantage over Montaguti and the rest of the chasers, which allowed him to be more relaxed as he cruised through the medieval streets of Arezzo and approached the finish line.
Cheered by hundreds of supporters, the Italian got out of the saddle one more time on the uphill roads of the town, before starting his celebration at the end of what was arguably the most spectacular and thrilling stage of this year’s edition.
“I’m over the moon today. To be sincere, I was thinking of this stage ever since I came third in Strade Bianche. At the start of the stage I decided to give it a go, but as soon as I got a gap, a group of 12 joined me,” Brambilla explained right after the stage.
“Fortunately, Matteo was there, so it was the perfect situation for us. We didn’t get too much space, just 5 minutes, but we stayed up on the road thanks to a fantastic Matteo. During the stage I told him that I have good feelings and he gave it his all, especially in those 20 kilometres leading to the climb, where he went full gas.”
The Italian, who claimed his maiden victory at World Tour level and the maglia rosa on the podium in Arezzo, continued: “I let the others attack on the climb, because I knew that the most important section is the one of dirt roads. There I accelerated and it all played into my favour.”
“I pushed hard on both the climb and the descent, where I took some risks. Coming into the last kilometres, I realised that I’m enjoying one of the best moments of my life.”
“I love this sport and I worked really hard every time to get where I am today. In the past years, since joining Etixx – Quick-Step, I became more and more confident, and now I am living the dream.”
“This victory is for my girlfriend, Cristina, and for my daughter, Asia, who was born just a couple of weeks ago. I can’t wait to see them in Asolo. Until then, a hard individual time trial is scheduled, and I’m keen on giving my all on Sunday.”
