Cycling: Jonathan Caicedo has won the mountain finish on Mount Etna. With this feat, the breakaway also took second place in the overall standings, which is now led by the young Portuguese Joao Almeida. The two Brits Geraint Thomas and Simon Yates are completely out of the running for overall victory.
Etna forms the general classification
The third stage of the Giro d'Italia invited the professionals to the first endurance test. After starting in Enna, the profile led over 150,0 kilometers to the Baltic Sea coast of Sicily. Although the entire stage was slightly bumpy, the biggest challenge of the day only awaited at the end. With the Etna we went up the largest active volcano in Europe. The finish line was at an altitude of 1.797 meters. The 18,8 km long and 6,6 percent steep mountain should therefore only be something for the strongest climbers. Nevertheless, the escapees had legitimate hopes of winning the day. Because the past has shown that escape groups often have the upper hand when they arrive on Mount Etna. That's what we hoped for today Josip Rumac (Androni Giocattoli – Sidermec), Francesco Romano (Bardiani – CSF – Faizane) jonathan caicedo (EF) and Lawson Craddock (EF), Matthew Holmes (Lotto – Soudal), Victor Campenaerts (NTT), Mikkel Bjerg (UAE) and Giovanni Visconti (Vini Zabu – KTM).
Geraint Thomas falls twice and loses time
Even before reaching the foot of Mount Etna, we were able to cross one of our favorites for overall victory off our list. Geraint Thomas (Ineos) fell twice. First it caught him in the neutralization, which is why the sharp start was delayed. Then the 2018 British Tour winner was caught again in a small descent after the Trek – Segafredo team picked up the pace. Accompanied by Filippo Gana (Ineos) in the Maglia Rosa, Geraint Thomas conceded several minutes. The dream of overall victory and also of the podium at this year's Giro d'Italia was already over after three days. It is questionable whether the 34-year-old will even compete in tomorrow's fourth stage.
Simon Yates is left behind
A rare sight offered us Peter Sagan (Bora – hansgrohe). The sprinter and classic hunter wore the Maglia Azzurra on his shoulders today. After finishing second in yesterday's stage, he's leading the mountains classification - at least for a day. Because today, of course, he shouldn't play a role on Mount Etna and thus lose the mountain jersey to the stage winner. The fight for the Maglia Rosa and for the day's victory erupted quietly in the rain five kilometers before the finish. jonathan caicedo from Ecuador proved to be the strongest outlier. He left his companions and was able to keep the group of favorites at a distance. After all, that was what counted Simon yates (Mitchelton-Scott) no more. The Briton had to give up when the German team Bora – hansgrohe increased the pace in the group of favorites.
Jonathan Caicedo can no longer be caught
No spectators, but lots of rain. The sight that Mount Etna offered us up the north-eastern side was not particularly beautiful. The race was all the more interesting for that. jonathan caicedo could no longer be caught. He saved himself from his former companion Giovanni Visconti to the goal. Crossed behind Harm Vanhoucke (Lotto – Soudal) and wilco kelderman (Sunweb) the finish line, who managed to break away from the group of favorites because they weren't really taken seriously. With the Italians Vincenzo Nibali (Trek – Segafredo) and Dominic Pozzo alive (NTT) could only Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) and Rafal Mayka (Bora – hansgrohe) keep pace. The overall classification has already taken on a clear form. New leader is View All (Deceuninck – Quick-Step), who shares the lead with today's stage winner. The day was particularly bitter for the British Simon yates and geraint thomas, who no longer play a role in the fight for the podium.
Jonathan Caicedo ganador de etapa🇪🇨 #GIROxESPN #GiroDeItalia pic.twitter.com/s8MmmKOBC1
— Miguel Eduardo Alvarez (@migueloal99) October 5, 2020
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