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."
Stage 19 Results
May 29
| Pos | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 | Sepp Kuss | Team Visma | Lease a BikeTeam Visma | Lease a Bike | 4h 28' 33" |
| 🥈 | Derek Gee-West | Lidl-TrekLidl-Trek | +0:13 |
| 🥉 | Giulio Ciccone | Lidl-TrekLidl-Trek | +0:36 |
| 4 | Felix Gall | Decathlon CMA CGM TeamDecathlon CMA CGM Team | +0:39 |
| 5 | Jonas Vingegaard | Team Visma | Lease a BikeTeam Visma | Lease a Bike | +0:39 |
| 6 | Jai Hindley | Red Bull-BORA-hansgroheRed Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | +0:43 |
| 7 | Damiano Caruso | Bahrain VictoriousBahrain Victorious | +1:06 |
| 8 | Davide Piganzoli | Team Visma | Lease a BikeTeam Visma | Lease a Bike | +1:11 |
| 9 | Einer Rubio | Movistar TeamMovistar Team | +1:19 |
| 10 | Michael Storer | Tudor Pro Cycling TeamTudor Pro Cycling Team | +1:19 |
| 11 | Jan Hirt | NSN Cycling TeamNSN Cycling Team | +1:28 |
| 12 | Thymen Arensman | Netcompany INEOS Cycling TeamNetcompany INEOS Cycling Team | +1:45 |
| 13 | Egan Bernal | Netcompany INEOS Cycling TeamNetcompany INEOS Cycling Team | +2:14 |
| 14 | Mathys Rondel | Tudor Pro Cycling TeamTudor Pro Cycling Team | +2:17 |
| 15 | Giulio Pellizzari | Red Bull-BORA-hansgroheRed Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | +2:21 |
| 16 | Afonso Eulalio | Bahrain VictoriousBahrain Victorious | +2:25 |
| 17 | Gregor Mühlberger | Decathlon CMA CGM TeamDecathlon CMA CGM Team | +4:07 |
| 18 | Chris Harper | Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling TeamPinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | +4:18 |
| 19 | Ludovico Crescioli | Team Polti VisitMaltaTeam Polti VisitMalta | +4:33 |
| 20 | Bart Lemmen | Team Visma | Lease a BikeTeam Visma | Lease a Bike | +6:38 |
| 21 | David de la Cruz | Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling TeamPinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | +8:09 |
| 22 | Johannes Kulset | Uno-X MobilityUno-X Mobility | +8:34 |
| 23 | Embret Svestad-Bårdseng | Netcompany INEOS Cycling TeamNetcompany INEOS Cycling Team | +9:06 |
| 24 | Ben O'Connor | Team Jayco-AlUlaTeam Jayco-AlUla | +9:36 |
| 25 | Aleksandr Vlasov | Red Bull-BORA-hansgroheRed Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | +10:54 |
| 26 | Johannes Staune-Mittet | Decathlon CMA CGM TeamDecathlon CMA CGM Team | +13:23 |
| 27 | Koen Bouwman | Team Jayco-AlUlaTeam Jayco-AlUla | +14:39 |
| 28 | Warren Barguil | Team Picnic PostNLTeam Picnic PostNL | +15:19 |
| 29 | Magnus Sheffield | Netcompany INEOS Cycling TeamNetcompany INEOS Cycling Team | +15:54 |
| 30 | Wout Poels | Unibet Rose RocketsUnibet Rose Rockets | +16:06 |
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
