Andre Greipel on Friday overcame a late challenge by Australia’s Caleb Ewan to roar to an impressive sprint win on the Giro d’Italia and secure a hat-trick of victories for his Lotto team.
Germany’s Greipel, known as “the Gorilla” for his impressive physique, claimed his maiden win on the fifth stage of the 99th edition on Wednesday.
It ended compatriot and rival sprinter Marcel Kittel’s bid for a third stage win from this year’s race, and fortune smiled kindly on Greipel again late in the 211km seventh stage when Etixx man Kittel suffered a puncture 5km from the finish.
Photo: EPA
A day after seeing teammate Tim Wellens claim his maiden stage from the race, Greipel made it three victories on the trot for his team to pull level 2-2 with compatriot and sprint rival Kittel. To add to Kittel’s woes, Greipel has taken the points competition’s red jersey from him.
“If we were playing football, we’d say we’ve scored a hat-trick with three consecutive stage wins,” Greipel said. “We’re very happy.”
Lotto were instrumental in chasing down an early breakaway, the last remnants of which were reeled in inside the final 8km.
After a series of big bends in the road slowed the bunch down, Orica-GreenEdge made a late charge for victory with Ewan pulling to the front.
However, with the finish line barely 50m away, Greipel put in a last, decisive effort to finish ahead of Italy’s Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek) and Sacha Modolo (Lampre), with Ewan eventually fading to fourth place.
“It was tough all day with a strong breakaway that was hard to catch. My team did an amazing job,” Greipel said. “The chase had to be a serious one. Before the sprint, we hit the front early. I was happy to find my way to another win. The finish was nervous.”
The Netherlands’ Tom Dumoulin of the Giant team retains the race leaders’ pink jersey a day after claiming a handful of seconds from his main rivals, including 2013 champion Vincenzo Nibali and Spanish duo Mikel Landa and Alejandro Valverde.
Denmark’s Jakob Fuglsang, of Nibali’s Astana team, is second overall 26 seconds behind, with Russian Ilnur Zakarin in third place for Katusha at 28.
Valverde (Movistar) sits in sixth place at 41, with Nibali a further six seconds behind in eighth place overall.
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