This Thursday 17th of April, Georg Zimmermann conquered the leader’s jersey at the end of the queen stage of the Giro d’Abruzzo, an event dear to Vini Fantini, the Italian wine partner of the World Team based in Ortona.
After the two first stages with an explosive finale, in which Zimmermann finished in the top twenty, this third stage of 160 kilometers featured three climbs, including two classified as Hors-Catégorie: the Gioia Vecchio (14 km at 5%) located mid-stage and the final ascent to Rocaraso (16 km at 5.3%).
Thanks to a perfect management of his efforts on this final climb and under torrential rain, Zimmermann overtook his competitors one after the other to achieve second place in the stage and secure his first podium of the season.
In doing so, he takes the lead in the general classification on the eve of the final stage, with an 11-second advantage over his runner-up David de la Cruz. The fourth and final day presents a hilly course between Corropoli and Isola del Gran Sasso.
Georg Zimmermann:
“This is an excellent return into competition after a long training block. In my previous race, Paris-Nice, I felt good, but struggled with the bad weather circumstances and got sick, making me miss Milano-Sanremo and the Volta a Catalunya. With the team we decided to take the time to recover well and build towards this race on the soil of our sponsors Fantini Wines and the Ardennes classics. This time, with slightly higher temperatures, I managed the wet weather better and was able to compete with the best climbers. I knew I had a chance on the leader’s jersey, so I focused on that in the final. I think I made the right decisions, even though in hindsight, knowing that I dropped my competitors for the general classification easily, I should have started my sprint earlier to distance them more. I am proud of my achievement, but also already looking forward to tomorrow’s last stage. I’ve never won a stage race before, this would be an important milestone in my career. The stage looks quite difficult to control, so with my teammates we will have to work very hard to defend my 11 second lead. I expect chaos, but with teammates like Louis Meintjes we have the intelligence to manage it well.”
Stage 3:
1.Edison Alejandro Callejas 4:10:53
2.Georg Zimmermann +0:40
3.David De La Cruz +0:46
General Classification:
1.Georg Zimmermann 11:07:07
2.David De La Cruz +0:11
