Alaphilippe bites the dust, Pelayo Sanchez beats his fellow escapees to the finish in a gravel stage

Just not for Julian Alaphilippe, who had to let Pelayo Sanchez go ahead on the line. The Frenchman chose to attack in the gravel stage of the Giro under the watchful eye of Patrick Lefevere. The trio of escapees held off the peloton in an exciting finish, but it was the Spaniard from Movistar who had the fastest legs. He celebrates his 3rd victory of his career.

• Winner of the day: Pelayo Sanchez seemed to throw away his own chances of winning by almost sliding down on a roundabout. He closed the gap quickly, put pressure on a wall and finished it in the sprint. The Spaniard put his nose to the window with places of honor in the Tour of Spain last year and has now taken the biggest victory of his career.

• Loser of the day: He was already about 2 minutes behind leader Pogacar, but Damiano Caruso can now definitively cross his mind about his classification ambitions. The Italian, 2nd in 2021, hit the ground hard and arrived at 15 minutes.

• Remarkable: Tadej Pogacar let his teammates do the leading work. The Slovenian did not intend to give up the pink leader’s jersey today. When the going was tough on the gravel strips, Pogacar was usually without teammates in the peloton.

• Tomorrow: Tomorrow’s menu is hearty. A time trial of more than 40 kilometers can shake up the rankings. The finish is on a climb of almost 7 kilometers, so the individual assignment will probably take an hour.

The flat first 70 kilometers were the scene of a fierce battle to get into the break. Time after time, different riders tried to jump away.

It was only at the foothills of a 4th category climb that the breakaway of the day broke away.

Groves, Vendrame, Sanchez, Alaphilippe, Plapp, Trentin and Fiorelli were the gold seekers in the last 90 kilometers.

The seven did not get much of a lead. UAE Team Emirates controlled closely, because Lucas Plapp (at 2’33”) was someone who was close in the rankings.

The final was somewhat comparable to Strade Bianche. There were more than 10 kilometers of unpaved roads on the course.

The second lane was annoying and Luke Plapp thought that was a good place to accelerate. Only Pelayo Sánchez and Julian Alaphilippe could follow him.

Meanwhile, Ineos Grenadiers was eagerly in the peloton. Their actions on the gravel roads yielded little.

The difference fluctuated from 1’30” back to 2’30”. One of the three escapees seemed to be assured of victory.

Things almost went wrong at the front at a roundabout in the last 15 kilometers. Sanchez went straight and also held up Alaphilippe.

Plapp seemed to be advancing alone on a steep stretch in a village center, but the three attackers converged again.

The last obstacle was a wall (700 meters at 10%) 4 kilometers from the end. Sanchez and Alaphilippe appeared to have the best climbing legs, but the tough Plapp caught up.

In the peloton, Romain Bardet took his chance. He couldn’t get away and the gap to the escapees was also a bit too big. The winner sat in the front.

The three of them entered the final kilometer. Plapp seemed to settle for 3rd place and took the lead.

There was a very long wait, but with about 150 meters to go, Alaphilippe was the first to go. Sanchez followed in his footsteps and sprinted convincingly past the Frenchman.

For Pelayo Sanchez it is his second victory of the season in his first year in the WorldTour.

Quinten Hermans took 7th place in the peloton. Tadej Pogacar remains the leader and will ride the long time trial in pink tomorrow.

• Pelayo Sanchez: “This is amazing, I have no words for it. It’s a crazy, crazy day. Since the start of the Giro I was saving energy because I wasn’t in top form. I wanted to get into the break, which I did today. But I didn’t dare to dream of this victory. I knew it was going to be a tough day. I waited for my moment and I tried to work together with Alaphilippe and Plapp.”

• Luke Plapp: “The race was uncontrolled all day. The first 80 kilometers were crazy. I was able to make the jump to the break, partly thanks to Kaden (Groves). For a sprinter he climbed very strong. Uphill I felt good. I tried to get away to drive, but Sanchez and Alaphilippe stayed with me. I was also half riding for the classification, so that also took some strength just had a little more punch.”

• Quinten Hermans: “It was a chaotic day. In the beginning they kept racing until that group pulled away. I thought that group was going for the win, but then Ineos and Lidl-Trek took the lead. The white lanes were more treacherous. than in March, because everything was looser. Bardet went at full speed on that steep wall. I was fortunate enough to stay with the group.

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