Ecuadoran Richard Carapaz on Saturday launched a solo attack 28km from the end of a mountainous 14th stage to seize the leader’s pink jersey from Jan Polanc in the Giro d’Italia.
The Movistar Team rider rode away over the summit of the Colle San Carlo and built his lead to the finish line.
“I was thinking just now, it seems only yesterday that I was at home in Ecuador playing on a toy bike. Now I’m here wearing the Maglia Rosa,” an elated Carapaz said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“We’ll try and keep the jersey and defend it all the way to Verona,” he added.
In the general classification, he leads Primoz Roglic by 7 seconds, with home favorite Vincenzo Nibali third, 1 minute, 47 seconds behind.
“On the last climb, it was a man-to-man fight,” Roglic said. “Everyone ran at their limits.”
Nibali (Bahrain-Merida Pro Cycling Team) was the first to test the strength of the leading bunch with a series of attacks on the Colle San Carlo, but he could make none of them stick.
Nibali was pleased to pick up a bonus for third.
“I took four seconds. It’s a small thing,” he said. “Roglic was very solid. Today he collaborated, in his own way.”
Carapaz then launched off the front, and no one could respond to him as he accelerated down the descent and consolidated on the final category 3 climb of the day.
His 10-second time bonus for winning the stage stopped Roglic from reclaiming the Maglia Rosa.
“The truth is that we used a strategy that was well planned by the team,” he said. “We knew that I and Mikel Landa were in good form, so we had to catch the right moment to attack. I did everything as planned.”
Simon Yates, who recovered after earlier being dropped, tried to chase down Carapaz, finishing strongly in second, 1:30 behind, with Roglic’s group 1:54 behind. Yates moved back into the top 10.
Overnight leader Polanc cracked on the San Carlo and slipped to seventh overall, more than 3 minutes down.
Yesterday’s stage 15 was a 232km ride from Ivrea to Como over the Madonna del Ghisallo and Civiglio climbs.
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