'It definitely was not the plan', Storer and Gee-West go on the offensive in break as Hindley returns to Giro podium

'It definitely was not the plan', Storer and Gee-West go on the offensive in break as Hindley returns to Giro podium

Tudor Pro Cycling's opportunistic move on the queen stage forced Derek Gee-West's hand, reshuffled the top five and handed Jai Hindley third overall. Sepp Kuss won the stage to complete his Grand Tour set.

By Tim Bonville-Ginn · · 5 min read

The breakaway on stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia reshaped the general classification as well as deciding who crossed the line first at Piani di Pezzè, lifting Derek Gee-West (Lidl-Trek) into fifth overall ahead of Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain Victorious) and handing Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) a time gain that cemented his seventh place.

Behind, Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) moved onto the podium after Thymen Arensman (Netcompany INEOS) cracked on the final climb, with Hindley now leading Arensman by 29 seconds. Sepp Kuss (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) won the stage.

The 151km route from Feltre to Alleghe featured roughly 5,000 metres of climbing, including the Passo Giau, the race's Cima Coppi at 2,233 metres. It was a day where a breakaway could build a lead large enough to matter on GC, and Tudor made sure it did.

Storer described the move as reactive. "It definitely was not the plan," he told Cycling Pro Net at the finish. "The Giro is like that. Especially in the mountains, you need to expect the unexpected." He said the team had seen a GC-relevant rider, Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) who started the day in ninth just over a minute behind Storer, go up the road and could not allow the gap to open unchecked. "We couldn't let that happen again. So we had to get across. The guys were extremely good."

Tudor's tactics forced the response. Gee-West, who had planned to stay with the GC group, said at the finish that Tudor "pulled a really good move with Michael (Storer) jumping and then a bunch of their guys dropping back, pulling him across." Gee-West had no choice: "I had to go with that."

The time gains did not come only on the climbs. Gee-West pointed to the valley sections between the mountains, where the breakaway's committed pacing kept the gap from closing. "Tudor did a really good job to keep the gap open," he said. "Michael, Giulio (Ciccone) and I committed to keeping it rolling." The Canadian appreciated that Storer was also keen to commit as they stood to possibly gain good time on their GC rivals: "He knew he was riding for a GC gap and he just put his head down in the valley."

Results

May 29

Velora
PosRiderTeamTime
🥇
Sepp Kuss
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE4:28:33
🥈
Derek Gee
LIDL-TREK+0:13
🥉
Giulio Ciccone
LIDL-TREK+0:36
4
Felix Gall
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:39
5
Jonas Vingegaard Hansen
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:39
6
Jai Hindley
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:43
7
Damiano Caruso
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+1:06
8
Davide Piganzoli
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+1:11
9
Einer Augusto Rubio Reyes
MOVISTAR TEAM+1:19
10
Michael Storer
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+1:19
11
Jan Hirt
NSN CYCLING TEAM+1:28
12
Thymen Arensman
NETCOMPANY INEOS+1:45
13
Egan Arley Bernal Gomez
NETCOMPANY INEOS+2:14
14
Mathys Rondel
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+2:17
15
Giulio Pellizzari
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+2:21
16
Afonso Eulálio
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+2:25
17
Gregor Mühlberger
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+4:07
18
Christopher Harper
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+4:18
19
Ludovico Crescioli
TEAM POLTI VISITMALTA+4:33
20
Bart Lemmen
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+6:38
21
David de la Cruz Melgarejo
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+8:09
22
Johannes Kulset
UNO-X MOBILITY+8:34
23
Embret Svestad-Bårdseng
NETCOMPANY INEOS+9:06
24
Ben Alexander O'Connor
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+9:36
25
Aleksandr Vlasov
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+10:54
26
Johannes Staune-Mittet
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+13:23
27
Koen Bouwman
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+14:39
28
Warren Barguil
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+15:19
29
Magnus Sheffield
NETCOMPANY INEOS+15:54
30
Wouter Poels
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS+16:06
31
Ben Zwiehoff
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+16:51
32
Igor Arrieta Lizarraga
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+16:59
33
Gianmarco Garofoli
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+22:28
34
Luca Vergallito
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+23:00
35
Andreas Leknessund
UNO-X MOBILITY+23:05
36
Alessandro Tonelli
TEAM POLTI VISITMALTA+24:10
37
Giovanni Aleotti
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+24:14
38
Matteo Sobrero
LIDL-TREK+24:14
39
Jardi Christiaan van der Lee
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+25:37
40
Lorenzo Milesi
MOVISTAR TEAM+26:28
41
Edoardo Zambanini
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+26:28
42
Callum Scotson
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+26:32
43
Victor Campenaerts
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+27:30
44
Enric Mas Nicolau
MOVISTAR TEAM+27:30
45
Vicente Rojas Naranjo
BARDIANI CSF 7 SABER+27:56
46
Diego Ulissi
XDS ASTANA TEAM+27:56
47
Christopher Hamilton
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+27:56
48
Connor Swift
NETCOMPANY INEOS+27:56
49
Oliver Naesen
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+27:56
50
Lawrence Warbasse
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+27:56
51
William Barta
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+27:56
52
Florian Stork
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+27:56
53
Jack Leonard Haig
NETCOMPANY INEOS+27:56
54
Toon Aerts
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+27:56
55
Harold Martin Lopez Granizo
XDS ASTANA TEAM+28:19
56
Guillermo Thomas Silva Coussan
XDS ASTANA TEAM+28:19
57
Simone Gualdi
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+28:19
58
Darren Rafferty
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+28:19
59
Juan Pedro Lopez Perez
MOVISTAR TEAM+28:19
60
Alberto Bettiol
XDS ASTANA TEAM+29:29
61
Alec Segaert
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+30:07
62
Tim Rex
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+30:28
63
Mikkel Norsgaard Bjerg
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+30:28
64
Brieuc Rolland
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+31:14
65
Alessandro Pinarello
NSN CYCLING TEAM+31:47
66
Mattia Bais
TEAM POLTI VISITMALTA+31:47
67
Fran Miholjević
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+32:23
68
Robert Stannard
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+32:23
69
Jan Christen
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+32:57
70
Mathijs Paasschens
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+32:57
71
Tobias Bayer
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+37:52
72
Rémy Rochas
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+37:52
73
Thomas Pesenti
TEAM POLTI VISITMALTA+37:52
74
Markel Beloki Fernandez
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+37:52
75
Jonas Rutsch
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+37:52
76
Rasmus Pedersen
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+37:52
77
Cyril Barthe
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+37:52
78
Nelson Oliveira
MOVISTAR TEAM+37:52
79
Christopher Jensen
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+37:52
80
Orluis Alberto Aular Sanabria
MOVISTAR TEAM+37:52
81
Francesco Busatto
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+37:52
82
Lorenzo Rota
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+37:52
83
Robert Donaldson
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+37:52
84
Mark Jamie Donovan
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+37:52
85
Jefferson Cepeda Ortiz
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+37:52
86
Gianni Moscon
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+37:52
87
Markus Hoelgaard
UNO-X MOBILITY+37:52
88
Fredrik Dversnes
UNO-X MOBILITY+37:52
89
Mirco Maestri
TEAM POLTI VISITMALTA+37:52
90
Filippo Zana
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+37:52
91
Timo Kielich
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+37:52
92
Andrea Raccagni Noviero
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+37:52
93
Arjen Livyns
XDS ASTANA TEAM+37:52
94
Corbin John Strong
NSN CYCLING TEAM+37:52
95
Diego Pablo Sevilla Lopez
TEAM POLTI VISITMALTA+37:52
96
David Gonzalez Lopez
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+37:52
97
Alan Hatherly
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+37:52
98
Dion Allan Smith
NSN CYCLING TEAM+37:52
99
Andréa Mifsud
TEAM POLTI VISITMALTA+37:52
100
Ivan Garcia Cortina
MOVISTAR TEAM+38:10
101
Jasper Stuyven
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+38:33
102
Filippo Ganna
NETCOMPANY INEOS+38:33
103
Rémi Cavagna
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+38:33
104
Filippo Turconi
BARDIANI CSF 7 SABER+38:33
105
Axel Huens
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+38:33
106
Manuele Tarozzi
BARDIANI CSF 7 SABER+38:33
107
Paul Magnier
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+38:33
108
Ben Turner
NETCOMPANY INEOS+38:33
109
Sakarias Koller Løland
UNO-X MOBILITY+38:33
110
Jonas Geens
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+38:33
111
Madis Mihkels
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+38:33
112
Ryan William Mullen
NSN CYCLING TEAM+38:33
113
Johan Price Pejtersen
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+38:33
114
Nicholas Schultz
NSN CYCLING TEAM+38:33
115
Mick van Dijke
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+38:43
116
Dries van Gestel
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+39:21
117
Ayco Bastiaens
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+39:21
118
Giovanni Lonardi
TEAM POLTI VISITMALTA+39:24
119
Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier
LIDL-TREK+39:26
120
Joshua Kench
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+39:26
121
Johan Jacobs
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+39:29
122
Nico Denz
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+39:52
123
Tobias Lund Andresen
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+40:49
124
Sean Flynn
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+40:49
125
Fabio van den Bossche
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+40:49
126
Tord Gudmestad
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+40:49
127
Tim Naberman
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+40:49
128
Casper Cornelis van Uden
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+40:49
129
Nikita Tsvetkov
BARDIANI CSF 7 SABER+41:41
130
Luca Paletti
BARDIANI CSF 7 SABER+41:41
131
Jensen Plowright
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+43:18
132
Paul Penhoet
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+43:42
133
António Tomas Morgado
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+43:57
134
Maximilian Richard Walscheid
LIDL-TREK+45:19
135
Tim Torn Teutenberg
LIDL-TREK+45:21
136
Jonathan Milan
LIDL-TREK+45:23
137
Fabian Lienhard
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+45:23
138
Robin Froidevaux
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+45:28
139
Matyáš Kopecký
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS+45:28
140
Tomas Kopecký
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS+45:45
141
Elmar Reinders
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS+45:45
142
Martin Marcellusi
BARDIANI CSF 7 SABER+46:25
143
Filippo Magli
BARDIANI CSF 7 SABER+46:25
144
Frank van den Broek
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+46:25
145
Lukáš Kubiš
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS+46:25
146
Dylan Groenewegen
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS+46:25
147
Hartthijs de Vries
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS+46:25
148
Niklas Larsen
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS+46:25
149
Gijs Leemreize
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+46:25
150
Luca Mozzato
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+46:25
151
Matteo Malucelli
XDS ASTANA TEAM+46:42
152
Simone Consonni
LIDL-TREK+46:42

Kuss went clear on the final climb, passing Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) to take the stage win and complete the set of stage victories across all three Grand Tours, becoming the 116th in history and the second at this year's race with teammate Jonas Vingegaard managing the feat in the first week. Ciccone, meanwhile, collected enough mountain points during the day to take the lead in the KOM classification with a 57-point cushion as well as taking the coveted Cima Coppi prize on the Passo Giau. Gee-West finished second on the stage after Storer was dropped on the final ascent and, in the end, lost time to Gee-West, Felix Gall (Decathlon-CMA CGM), Vingegaard and the rider they aimed to not lose time to, Caruso, as well as Davide Piganzoli (Visma | Lease a Bike).

Hindley's race to the podium

It was a different race in the GC group that was whittled down throughout the day by a constant pressing on the pedals by Visma | Lease a Bike as they kept the breakaway reasonably close to make sure Vingegaard wasn't threatened. Eventually, when the gap started the grow, pressure from Decathlon CMA CGM Team and Netcompany INEOS forced selections and brought the gap down. It meant Gall and Arensman saved their podium spots. However, Hindley used the aggression to his advantage on the final climb. Arensman could not hold the pace and lost enough time to slip off the podium.

Hindley called it "a pretty crazy day, also tactically, with some GC guys in the group." He praised Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe), who had been placed in the breakaway to go for the stage. But, if that didn't work then he would drop back and help his leader, which is what he did. "Our plan was to have Giulio on the break to go for the stage, or if not then try to help me at some point," Hindley said. "Really big chapeau to him."

Hindley did still lose time to race leader Vingegaard and second-placed Gall on the final climb. His podium move came from Arensman's losses but also from his aggression along with the help from Pellizzari. He isn't in the same frame as Gall and certainly not Vingegaard.

Once again in the late mountain stages of the Giro a breakaway shows that, when the gaps are big to the race leader, that GC can be on the cards in the breakaway for the more minor positions. Caruso, Storer, Gee-West and others tried it today and got a very positive day from it. Others who tried to go with Gee-West and Storer when they launched suffered terribly. Ben O'Connor (Jayco-AlUla) just missed the jump and tried to bridge but missed it and faded finishing 24th at over nine and a half minutes down on the winner, Kuss, and seeing him slip out of the top 10.

Storer, despite the gains, was already looking ahead. "The fatigue's definitely setting in and I think tomorrow is going to be a battle," he said. Stage 20 represents the last realistic chance for GC changes before the race reaches Rome.

Cover image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com

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Tim Bonville-Ginn

Pro cycling contributor

Tim Bonville-Ginn is a freelance writer who has worked in cycling for well over a decade with his articles being featured across publications such as Cyclingnews, Cycling Weekly, Cyclist, Rouleur, Eurosport, Road cc, Domestique, and more.

As well as writing, Tim has worked as a social media and press manager for professional teams Human Powered Health, Global 6, and Saint Piran across Europe as well as commentating on races such as the African Continental Championships, Tour de Feminin and multiple rounds of the British road and circuit series for Golazo and Monument Cycling.

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