Quintana safe through chaotic finish
07 May 2017

Giro d'Italia (st. 3)

Gaviria takes stage and Maglia Rosa in Cagliari after QST reigns into crosswinds; Nairo remains within biggest Giro contenders after huge Movistar teamwork

Three different GC leaders in three days of the 2017 Giro d'Italia, as Colombian Fernando Gaviria (QST) took his team's job to fruition into the echelons as he won in Cagliari and took over the Maglia Rosa. The 'antioqueño' led home a split that was nearly made by Nairo Quintana himself.

Well supported in the finale by Rojas, Amador and Bennati against the coastal winds, the 'Cóndor' was really close to join an elite field of about ten riders, created with 9km to go, which only included Bob Jungels (QST) out of the GC contenders-group.

In the end, a slim, 13-second margin -10" for the Luxembourgish champion- distanced the main peloton from the lead group. Amador and Rojas contributed until the very final straight to keep his leader as close as possible.

Quintana now sits in 17th place overall, 23" down on the Maglia Rosa -in the same time as Thomas, Nibali, Landa and Dumoulin-, before the first rest day and the transfer to Sicily, prelude to the Etna mountain showdown on Tuesday.

Results

Picture (c): BettiniPhoto.net