De Bondt won the final round at the Giro flat, Carapaz still leading

Richard Carapaz, winner of the Giro in 2019 and gold medalist in the road race at the Tokyo Olympics, maintained his three-second lead at the top of the overall classification ahead of Australian Jai Hindley, who finished 2nd overall in 2020.

Hindley was punched three miles from the end of the stage. They were neutralized, meaning he clocked in alongside the other leaders on board at the time of his misfortune.

Mikel Landa was third overall, 1 min 5 s behind Carapaz.

The final three stages will serve as the champion’s crown: two very difficult tests on mountainous terrain on Friday and Saturday, followed by an individual test in time to end the debate in Verona on Sunday.

I watched Landa and Hindley non-stop because I knew there could be a gap, ”Carapaz said. I like to keep the pink jersey until the very end, and I have confidence in my legs.

Joao Almeida, a Portuguese 4th in the cumulative ranking, withdrew before the stage started after being declared positive for COVID-19. Almeida was 1:54 behind Carapaz.

Vincenzo Nibali, who plans to retire at the end of the campaign, climbed to 4th place, even though he was still nearly six minutes behind the Colombian.

The stage ended on the flat with a loop around Treviso, crowned with a 156 km route from Borgo Valsugana punctuated by two category 4 passes.

De Bondt, of the Alpecin-Fenix ​​team, was part of the early four-man breakaway, and he ran to the finish line over Edoardo Affini and Magnus Cort Nielsen.

We managed the breakaway well for the last few kilometers to keep the peloton behind us, then we had to keep an eye on Magnus because he was so fast, De Bondt said. This was my first success in a big competition. It was a dream come true.

For his part, Canadian Alexander Cataford (Israel-Premier Tech) finished 80th on the stage with a peloton 2:57 behind De Bondt. In the cumulative rankings, the Ottawa cyclist is 101st.