Giro d'Italia (st. 7)

Spanish veteran takes 6th on stage seven after brilliant effort in breakaway, supported by strong Antonio (8th) to now sit just one step behind Maglia Rosa holder Conti (UAD).

Pello Bilbao (AST) took a famous victory at the end of a fast-paced stage seven in the 2019 Giro d’Italia, 185km from Vasto to L’Aquila. The Basque allrounder was the strongest into a thirteen-man breakaway which again included two riders from a courageous, strong Movistar Team with José Joaquín Rojas and Antonio Pedrero.

It took more than 80km to establish the winning break, an initial move of 19 riders -with Rojas also in- followed by a selection where Pedrero joined his fellow countryman with a sensational job. Antonio’s efforts were key at the climb of Svolte di Popoli (Cat-2), keeping race leader Valerio Conti’s UAD pursuit always around two minutes behind, a margin which made Rojas dream of even taking the Maglia Rosa.

The wear and tear from two days at the front made Rojas lose contact into the penultimate little climb -8km before the end-, yet the Spaniard was able to bridge back and even counter-attack ahead of a vigilant pursuit, which caught and dropped him into the last climb (1km at 8%). Rojas eventually took 6th place -with Pedrero in 8th-, an effort worth a provisional 2nd place overall which keeps making the Movistar Team shine. In turn, Carapaz, Landa and Amador finished inside the GC bunch.

Saturday will bring the longest stage in this year’s Giro: 239km towards Pesaro, almost entirely next to the coast before a series of final climbs -three rated ascents- in the last ninety kilometers, perfect for another breakaway to succeed.

Cover picture (c): BettiniPhoto