Cycling highlights: Chris Froome won the 2018 Giro d'Italia. This result was not surprising. But how it came about impressed everyone. The 18th stage was decisive – exactly two years ago today.
Froome had his back to the wall
When Chris Froome made his start at the Giro d'Italia 2018 announced, the fans were almost unanimous: The overall victory can only go to the Briton. After all, the Sky professional has won the Tour de France four times in the past five years. He also triumphed twice at the Vuelta a Espana. So now it should also be the Giro d'Italia. But things weren't going well for him. After 18 stages, he was only fourth in the overall standings, 3:22 minutes behind leader Simon Yates. With a bit of luck, he might still be able to climb onto the podium. But the overall victory? He seemed unavailable. Simon Yates was far too strong in the weeks before and Chris Froome was unusually weak. But exactly these two aspects were to be reversed on May 25, 2018.
Yates breaks in
On the way to Bardonecchia already had to be mastered in the middle of the stage of the Colle delle Finestre. Since there was still 80 kilometers to go and leader Simon Yates was able to present himself so confidently, nobody expected an attack so early. But that's exactly what the Sky team took advantage of. The British team smashed into the gravel section at breakneck speed. The field broke into pieces. When Chris Froome then attacked himself, Simon Yates was already distanced. The competition tried to form up, but the chasing group, consisting of Tom Dumoulin, Richard Carapaz, Miguel Angel Lopez and Thibaut Pinot, did not agree. Because as the defending champion, Dumoulin found himself in the best position. He had to do most of the work himself. Meanwhile, Lopez and Carapaz were arguing about the junior ranking. Froome was able to squeeze out more than three minutes that day - and still win the Giro.
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