Giro de Italia (st. 9)

Another day marked by rain and hard roads sees Visconti entering the day's break while Intxausti (6th) recovers his best legs within the favourites

Rain and cold were again the protagonists in the 2013 Giro d’Italia, whose stage nine -170k between Sansepolcro and Florence- had no rest for the favourites in the last hundred kilometers. Hard climbs and difficult descents, even riskier due to weather, put some of them into trouble. Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins (SKY) managed to get into the main group after several times dropped, while the last winner of the ‘Corsa Rosa’, Ryder Hesjedal (GRS), lost over a minute -a remarkable Ventoso was able to get to the finish with him- with the main GC riders, as Beñat Intxausti always featured at the front of the elite group. Following his suffering at Saturday’s time trial, the Movistar Team leader proved to be completely recovered and finishes in 6th place, just behind Evans (BMC) for second into the 30-rider group at front, also including Herrada.

Well ahead of the GC fight, the stage was contested by a 12-man breakaway starting at 30km, in which Giovanni Visconti tried his way. The man wearing the ‘maglia azzurra’ until today couldn’t reach the finish in front as Pirazzi (BAR), Chalapud (COL) and Belkov (KAT) broke things up with 80 kilometers left, an adventure that led the Russian to the win in Florence after a solo attack in the descent of the Vallombrosa. A well-deserved, needed rest day will come on Monday -only after the race convoy has covered a 300-kilometer transfer- before two mountain stages on Tuesday and Wednesday atop Altopiano del Montasio and Vajont.