Jonas Vingegaard has won the ninth stage of the Giro d’Italia. The 29-year-old Dane from Team Visma | Lease a Bike proved the strongest on the tough summit finish at Corno alle Scale. It is the fiftieth professional victory for Vingegaard, who is closing in on the overall standings.
“This stage win was not initially a goal for us, but I’m very happy that I could deliver the victory for the team,” Vingegaard reflected. “We decided to wait in the opening phase. We saw that other teams wanted to take control, which meant the stage win suddenly came within reach. On the final climb, we decided to go all in. Gall launched a strong acceleration in the closing part, but I felt strong today.”
The Giro peloton faced a tough challenge one day before the rest day. The finish of the ninth stage was at the top of Corno alle Scale, an 11-kilometer climb. The stage featured a long flat approach before the riders reached the mountains. Eight riders formed the break of the day, but the peloton kept them within range.
The gap to the leaders quickly shrank on the final climb. In a strongly reduced peloton, the riders of Team Visma | Lease a Bike made an impression. The first move among the favorites came from Felix Gall. Vingegaard was the only rider able to follow the Austrian’s pace. The two then went past the last remaining breakaway rider, Giulio Ciccone.
In the steep final kilometers, Vingegaard launched his attack. The Dane then soloed to his second stage win of this Giro and his 50th professional victory overall. Davide Piganzoli finished a strong third.
“It feels good to end the week with a win,” Vingegaard said. “I’m happy for Davide that he was able to show himself with his third place. He is a very talented rider. We are in a good position after nine stages and are looking forward to the rest of this Giro, starting with the time trial on Tuesday.”
