Eros Capecchi wins eighteenth stage and Contador retains his overall lead in 2011 Giro d’ltalia
Liquigas-Cannondale team’s Eros Capecchi won three-way sprint in the eighteenth stage of 2011 Giro d’ltalia on Thursday, May 26. Alberto Contador maintained his overall leader’s pink jersey.
The race started in Morbegno and ended in San Pellegrino Terme. The 24-year-old, Eros took a total of 3 hours, 20 minutes and 38 seconds to cover the distance of 151 kilometres.
Eros had powered to beat Marco Pinotti (HTC-Highroad) and Kevin Seeldraeyers (Quickstep Cycling) in the finishing circuit of the stage.
Gianluca Brambilla was in fourth place with a difference of 1 minute and 20 seconds, while the race leader Alberto Contador grabbed 41th place.
After winning the stage Eros said, “It’s been a difficult Giro for me up to now, I haven’t succeeded in going as well as I wanted to, but now this is an uncontrollable joy,”
The group of three riders, including Eros Capecchi, Marco Pinotti and Kevin Seeldraeyers were part of large group in last 55 kilometres. In the second climb, the other six cyclists made a new break, before Capecchi trio broke clear on the slope.
Pinotti once again was leading the peloton with a 15-second advantage over Gianluca Brambilla, who was the only one close to him in the race. Pinotti previously wore the pink jersey in the opening time trial.
However, after a few kilometres, Brambilla was caught by Paolo Tiralongo of Astana; both of them worked together and made no inroads on the gap of top trio. When the three leaders entered in the finishing circuit of San Pellegrino, Pinotti and Seeldraeyers
toyed with each other in the front.
Capecchi paced his speed and managed to cross the final line ahead of Pinotti.
Pinotti said, “I was lucky to get into the right break, because everybody was trying to get clear, I knew that after the last bend there was a slight descent, so I led it out and gave everything, but in a finish like that it was always going to be difficult
for me.”
Three-time Tour de France champion Alberto Contador maintained his overall classification with the timing of 71 hours, 45 minutes and 09 seconds.
Michele Scarponi of Lampre-ISD was runner-up with 4 minutes and 58 seconds behind Alberto. Vincenzo Nibali finished third with difference of 5 minutes and 45 seconds.
The next stage will start in Bergamo and end in Macugnaga. All the riders will cover the distance of 209 kilometres.
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