Czech Jan Hirt (Intermarché) won the 16th stage of the Tour of Italy, the most mountainous in this edition by its elevation, Tuesday, in Aprica.
Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz (Ineos) kept the leader’s pink jersey five days from the end. But his lead was just 3 seconds to Australian Jai Hindley.
The stage was difficult, but I finished well. I expected to win the sprint for third place, but that didn’t happen, Carapaz reacted. Every second counts. The details will make a difference.
Hirt was ahead of Dutchman Thymen Arensman by 7 seconds after 202 km of this stage that crossed Mortirolo, one of the mythical passes of the Giro, on its less steep side.
The 31-year-old Czech scored his best victory, the fifth of his career. He was ranked 2nd in 2019 of the Giro stage that passed through Mortirolo, climbing its northern slope.
Hirt finished with a breakaway launched from the first of three major climbs of the day, 160 km from the finish.
I love Mortirolo, it’s a historic climb. Every time I do this, I find myself in the breakaway, this third time. It sure makes me want to have Mortirolo on stagesaid Hirt.
But I had cramps on lowering the Mortirolo, then I had derailleur problems. I fought all the way to the line, he said. I like steep climbs, they matter to me. I really like Italy too. I also like to shop in the spring. This makes the Giro my favorite trip.
This is the second stage of the Belgian team’s victory after Biniam Girmay in the 10th.
Canadian Alexander Cataford (Israel – Premier Tech) finished 131st, 48:14 from the winner, in a field of 42 riders. He slipped to 100th place in the overall classification (at 3:21:54).
In the interim classification, Carapaz is 3 seconds ahead of Hindley and 34 to Portuguese Joao Almeida.
Spanish Mikel Landa was 59s behind, while Italian Vincenzo Nibali advanced from 8th to 5th place, 3 min 40 s from the pink jersey.
On Wednesday, the 17th stage connects Ponte di Legno with Lavarone at 168 km.
The course features the first two climbs in the category in the last 50 kilometers, the Vetriolo and the Menador, less than eight kilometers from the finish.
Source: Radio-Canada
