Davide Formolo carried off a solo attack to perfection to win the fourth stage of the Giro d’Italia on Tuesday, while Simon Clarke took the overall leader’s maglia rosa from Orica-GreenEdge teammate Michael Matthews.
Overall favorites Fabio Aru, Alberto Contador and Richie Porte finished in the lead chasing group, while Colombian rider Rigoberto Uran, who finished second the previous two years, lost 42 seconds.
For his first professional victory, Formolo attacked on a climb shortly before the finish and clocked nearly 4 hours along the undulating 150km route from Chiavari to La Spezia.
Photo: AP
“I’m here to learn,” Formolo said. “It’s my first Giro and I don’t have any pressure.”
Clarke, an Australian, won a sprint to place second, 22 seconds adrift of Formolo, while Jonathan Monsalve of Venezuela crossed third.
Matthews finished in 129th place, 20 minutes behind the first-place finisher.
“When I crossed the finish, I couldn’t contain my emotions knowing I had the jersey,” said Clarke, who raised his arms as if he had won the stage. “I worked hard to be ready for this Giro.”
In the overall standings, Clarke holds a 10 second lead over teammate Esteban Chaves. Tinkoff-Saxo teammates Roman Kreuziger and Contador are third and fourth respectively, both 17 seconds behind.
Aru is fifth, 23 seconds behind, while Porte is 10th, 37 seconds back.
Stage 5 was to feature the first mountain finish of the race, a 152km leg from La Spezia to Abetone in central Italy.
The 98th Giro is to end on May 31 in Milan.
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