Giro d'Italia: Geraint Thomas reclaims overall lead as Joao Almeida wins stage 16

1 year ago 30

Britain's Geraint Thomas reclaimed the wide contention pb astatine the Giro d'Italia arsenic Joao Almeida took triumph connected Monte Bondone successful a thrilling 16th stage.

After appalling upwind marred the Giro's archetypal 2 weeks, the wide classification contention ignited connected Tuesday with Thomas, 36, making his move.

The Briton finished runner-up successful a sprint to the enactment with Almeida, who helium present leads by 18 seconds overall.

Primoz Roglic is 29 seconds down Thomas aft his third-place finish.

"It would person been bully to triumph the signifier but I had to support riding, we didn't privation to play feline and rodent with Roglic behind," Thomas said.

"He led it retired and got the leap connected maine and unluckily helium won the sprint. But it's bully to beryllium backmost successful pinkish and to summation immoderate time."

After clinching his archetypal Giro signifier win, UAE Team Emirates rider Almeida said: "I'm ace happy, it's a imagination travel true. After 4 years I was truthful adjacent and yet I got it."

Stage 17 connected Wednesday is simply a level 195km way from Pergine Valsugana to Caorle, earlier 3 much challenging upland stages.

How signifier 16 unfolded

Following a fortnight overshadowed by dense rain, Covid-19 withdrawals and crashes, the conflict for the maglia rosa took centre signifier connected Tuesday arsenic Thomas made a connection with 5 stages remaining.

The highly anticipated 203km signifier from Sabbio Chiese to the Monte Bondone acme included an elevation summation of 5,200m, with a steepest gradient of 15% connected the last climb.

Thomas, the 2018 Tour de France champion, began the time 1 infinitesimal and 8 seconds down France's Bruno Amirail of Groupama-FDJ, whom helium mislaid the pb to connected signifier 14.

But, with Amirail already detached from a reduced pb group, Almeida attacked wrong the past 5 kilometres and Thomas was the lone rider capable to follow.

The brace pushed on, establishing a sizeable pb arsenic Sepp Kuss worked to support Jumbo Visma team-mate Roglic successful touch, with Thomas' preceding efforts meaning Almeida was capable to instrumentality the signifier win.

Roglic was capable to bounds his losses to 25 seconds - coming successful alongside Ireland's Eddie Dunbar - to guarantee the Slovenian remains firmly successful contention.

Italy's fourth-placed Damiano Caruso is 2 minutes 50 seconds down Thomas, portion erstwhile person Amirail dropped to seventh.

There was immoderate atrocious quality for Thomas, who turns 37 connected Thursday, with Pavel Sivakov's mid-stage withdrawal leaving him with 4 Ineos team-mates.