Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team) stamped his authority on the Giro d’Italia today as he soloed to victory on the ninth stage and also took over the maglia rosa. The stage also saw the hopes of Team Sky lost on the final climb as a collision involving a motorbike took out both Geraint Thomas and Mikel Landa, with both riders losing big chunks of time.
Today’s 152-kilometre stage took the riders from Montenero di Bisaccia to the summit of the Blockhaus (Cat-1), and the main talking point was when Wilco Kelderman hit a police motorbike which was parked by the side of the road on the climb to Blockhaus. The Sunweb rider hit the deck with Landa, Thomas and Adam Yates (Orica-Scott) also crashing. They were able to continue to the finish but Landa’s hopes of a high GC finish was in tatters, with both Yates and Thomas losing a significant amount of time to Quintana.
Quintana made his move with seven kilometres remaining and only Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) and Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) could stay with him. He subsequently dropped the pair with Nibali struggling and being passed by the Dutch pair of Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) and Bauke Mollema (Trek – Segafredo).
Quintana finished 24″ clear of Pinot and Dumoulin with Mollema a further 17″ behind. The 2014 Giro winner now leads by Pinot and Dumoulin by 28″ and 30″ respectively.
The riders have a rest day before facing a 39-kilometre individual time-trial from Montefalco to Foligno on Tuesday.
Nairo Quintana: “Such a great day! I wanted to show that both my legs and those of my team-mates were doing great. I feel strong and I’m pleased to see the whole Movistar Team riding this way. All of the boys have been simply outstanding, they worked their hearts out from start to finish, from the very first one to the last, at the exact moment they had to, and that also brings you extra motivation to give your best.
“I knew it was important to open some distance with the biggest rivals before the TT. After my first attack I saw Pinot and Nibali being able to follow, but I continued to make attacks, one after another, until I was able to finally open a gap and carry on. I just gave everything that I had – I’m so happy I ended up winning this stage and also wearing the Maglia Rosa before the rest day. We’re really satisfied with the selection we created between the main contenders and taking these seconds on them.
“There’s still a long way to go in this Giro. We’ll see after Tuesday’s TT if these 30 seconds over Dumoulin are many or too few, but for the time being, I’m feeling good, with strong health, good legs, and that’s what really matters so early in this race. This victory goes to all Latin American and Colombian fans; to Michele Scarponi, whom I regret so much about his passing; and also my wife and all mothers in their day.”
