Giro d'Italia: One day after the controversial king's stage, the Colombian Nairo Quintana (Movistar) was allowed to drive the Maglia Rosa for a walk. The reason for this was a 26-man lead group with no riders who could pose a threat to him or any other favourite. In the end, the Italian Stefano Pirazzi (Bardiani-CSF) won.
The group, which included Simon Geschke (Giant Shimano) and Daminao Cunego (Lampre-Merida), had said goodbye to the field after a quick start to the stage and up on a day whose profile was made for a successful escape half of the race, had a lead of almost 12 minutes over the field.
At this point it was clear that the winner would come from the top group. But anyone who had expected that Geschke or Cunego would flee was disappointed. On the last climb of the day, the Muro di Ca'Del Poggio, with almost 25 kilometers to go, Thomas De Gendt (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) broke away first. Pirazzi followed him. A few kilometers later, three more riders, Tim Wellens (Lotto Belisol), Jay McCarthy (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Matteo Montaguti (Ag2R La Mondiale), caught up. Geschke had been with them at first, but he was robbed of all chances by a fall.
The quintet worked well together as a result. Only two kilometers before the finish, the drivers started to attack each other. Above all, Pirazzi was in his element. He managed to save a small lead to the finish. Behind him, Wellens led Australia's McCarthy to the finish.
The group around Geschke, who ended up seventh, finished 28 seconds behind Pirazzi in Vittorio Veneto. The field around Quintana several minutes later. The Colombian will start tomorrow's 180-kilometer stage as the leader, which ends with the difficult arrival at Rifugio Panarotta.
Giro d'Italia result
Giro d'Italia - General Classification