Omar Fraile takes maiden win on stunning stage 11 as Dumoulin retains maglia rosa
Omar Fraile (Dimension Data) took a stunning maiden Grand Tour victory at Giro 100 after being out all day in the breakaway on stage 11 as Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) retained the maglia rosa in the Apenines.
The Spaniard and Team Sky's Mikel Landa took advantage of the early chaotic fight for position and opened a lead. Fraile bolstered his claim for the King of the Mountains jersey taking maximum points on three of the four categories climbs to draw level with Jan Polanc (UAE Team Emirates).
After Landa dropped back in the run up to the fourth climb, Fraile formed a group with Pierre Rolland (Cannondale-Drapac) and Rui Costa (UAE Team Emirates) who were then joined by Tanel Kangert (Astana) in the final couple of kilometres.
The chasing group caught Fraile and co but the Spaniard used Kangert's lead out to out sprint his four rivals to a first ever Giro d'Italia win for Dimension Data and a maiden Grand Tour stage victory for himself.
Fraile's breakaway teammate, Igor Anton, said: "I'm not at all surprised [by Omar's win] given the quality he possesses. I am perhaps a little surprised he's managed to pick up a victory here, but no, I knew what a great rider he was. It's a big win for the team and for Omar."
Team Sunweb held on to Tom Dumoulin's maglia rosa with a superb tactical display. Simon Geschke helped his leader over the first couple of climbs while the team director sent Laurens ten Dam up the road to the breakaway. This way when Geschke was out of energy, ten Dam could drop back and help Dumoulin over the final part of the course and protect him from any attacks.
It was a brilliant defensive display in the absence of many important injured domestiques like Wilco Kelderman, who was taken out of the race by the motorbike crash on Blockhaus.
Movistar sent Andrey Amador into the breakaway and the Costa Rican managed to claw back a minute and 34 seconds to climb to sixth on general classification.
Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) lost time when he was dropped by an attack on the final climb and slips three places to 14th - 6'21" down on Dumoulin.
After a frantic start out of Firenze - the hometown of Italian cycling legend, Gino Bartali - a large group of 25 riders including Mikel Landa (Team Sky), Andrey Amador (Movistar), Igor Anton (Dimension Data) and Laurens De Plus (Quick-Step Floors) committed to the early break, with Team Sunweb and Movistar heading a chasing group ahead of the peloton.
De Plus took the points on the category two Passo Della Consuma just outside of Florence.
The representatives at the front of the race kept interchanging - attacking and being brought back again. The break settled with Basque riders Landa and Fraile in the driving seat, opening a gap of two minutes 40 seconds to the chasing group and five minutes to the peloton.
There was no contest between the compatriots on the category two Passo Della Calla as Fraille rolled over ahead of Landa for maximum points.
Movistar riders Jose Joaquim Rojas, Amador and Jesus Herrada were pushing in the now large chasing group packed with riders in the top 20 of general classification, leaving Quintana et al and Team Sunweb on the front of the peloton controlling the race. At halfway in the stage, Amador was the provisional leader on the road.
With Fraile going for the King of the Mountains jersey, Landa once again stepped aside and allowed him maximum points on the category three Passo Del Carnaio.
Landa was rewarded by Fraile offering up the intermediate sprint points - not a competition the Team Sky man is competing in but a nice touch of sportsmanship between the breakaway men.
Fraile and Landa were caught by the chasing group of 20 riders on the long uncategorised climb before the category two Monte Fumaiolo with 40.5km to go.
After 10km of Movistar's Rojas pushing the pace and whittling down the large front group, the Spaniard dropped off and the games of cat and mouse began, with riders testing the reactions and readiness of those around them.
While the trio of Costa, De Plus and Rolland reacted first and forced a gap from the front group up the narrow Monte Fumaiolo, Nibali and Bahrain-Merida lit the fuse in the peloton in preparation of an attack on the long descent into Bagno di Romagno.
Rolland, who'd now dropped Costa and De Plus, was caught by the slightly rested Fraile, and the Spaniard went on to claim maximum points once again and drew level with Jan Polanc in the KOM competition. With the breakaway win now highly possible, Rolland and Fraile relayed knowing the stage win was in sight.
Meanwhile, in the maglia rosa group, Pinot launched an attack over the top of Monte Fumaiolo but it wasn't enough to trouble Nibali, Quintana or Dumoulin.
Costa once again attacked the chasing group on the slight uphill between the two downhill sections and managed bridge the 11 second gap to join the front of the race again with Fraile and Rolland.
The gap from the front trio to the chasing group was barely ten seconds at this point - thanks to the riders spending more time checking each other than attempting a stage win - and Kangert took advantage by bridging into the final 2km.
The Astana man - looking for a stage win in memory of late teammate, Michele Scarponi - was the first to sprint but it was Fraile who completed a phenomenal stage with his first Grand Tour victory.
After being well protected by his teammates all day, Dumoulin crossed the line with his GC rivals and should keep the maglia rosa until the next mountain stage on stage 14.
Stage 12 from Forli to Reggio Emilia is earmarked as a sprinters stage. At 229km it's the longest on the 2017 Giro d'Italia and the only features are two small categorised climbs, making the outcome almost entirely certain to be sprint finish.
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| Credit: eurosport.com |
After Landa dropped back in the run up to the fourth climb, Fraile formed a group with Pierre Rolland (Cannondale-Drapac) and Rui Costa (UAE Team Emirates) who were then joined by Tanel Kangert (Astana) in the final couple of kilometres.
The chasing group caught Fraile and co but the Spaniard used Kangert's lead out to out sprint his four rivals to a first ever Giro d'Italia win for Dimension Data and a maiden Grand Tour stage victory for himself.
Fraile's breakaway teammate, Igor Anton, said: "I'm not at all surprised [by Omar's win] given the quality he possesses. I am perhaps a little surprised he's managed to pick up a victory here, but no, I knew what a great rider he was. It's a big win for the team and for Omar."
Team Sunweb held on to Tom Dumoulin's maglia rosa with a superb tactical display. Simon Geschke helped his leader over the first couple of climbs while the team director sent Laurens ten Dam up the road to the breakaway. This way when Geschke was out of energy, ten Dam could drop back and help Dumoulin over the final part of the course and protect him from any attacks.
It was a brilliant defensive display in the absence of many important injured domestiques like Wilco Kelderman, who was taken out of the race by the motorbike crash on Blockhaus.
Movistar sent Andrey Amador into the breakaway and the Costa Rican managed to claw back a minute and 34 seconds to climb to sixth on general classification.
Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) lost time when he was dropped by an attack on the final climb and slips three places to 14th - 6'21" down on Dumoulin.
After a frantic start out of Firenze - the hometown of Italian cycling legend, Gino Bartali - a large group of 25 riders including Mikel Landa (Team Sky), Andrey Amador (Movistar), Igor Anton (Dimension Data) and Laurens De Plus (Quick-Step Floors) committed to the early break, with Team Sunweb and Movistar heading a chasing group ahead of the peloton.
De Plus took the points on the category two Passo Della Consuma just outside of Florence.
The representatives at the front of the race kept interchanging - attacking and being brought back again. The break settled with Basque riders Landa and Fraile in the driving seat, opening a gap of two minutes 40 seconds to the chasing group and five minutes to the peloton.
There was no contest between the compatriots on the category two Passo Della Calla as Fraille rolled over ahead of Landa for maximum points.
Movistar riders Jose Joaquim Rojas, Amador and Jesus Herrada were pushing in the now large chasing group packed with riders in the top 20 of general classification, leaving Quintana et al and Team Sunweb on the front of the peloton controlling the race. At halfway in the stage, Amador was the provisional leader on the road.
With Fraile going for the King of the Mountains jersey, Landa once again stepped aside and allowed him maximum points on the category three Passo Del Carnaio.
Landa was rewarded by Fraile offering up the intermediate sprint points - not a competition the Team Sky man is competing in but a nice touch of sportsmanship between the breakaway men.
Fraile and Landa were caught by the chasing group of 20 riders on the long uncategorised climb before the category two Monte Fumaiolo with 40.5km to go.
After 10km of Movistar's Rojas pushing the pace and whittling down the large front group, the Spaniard dropped off and the games of cat and mouse began, with riders testing the reactions and readiness of those around them.
While the trio of Costa, De Plus and Rolland reacted first and forced a gap from the front group up the narrow Monte Fumaiolo, Nibali and Bahrain-Merida lit the fuse in the peloton in preparation of an attack on the long descent into Bagno di Romagno.
Rolland, who'd now dropped Costa and De Plus, was caught by the slightly rested Fraile, and the Spaniard went on to claim maximum points once again and drew level with Jan Polanc in the KOM competition. With the breakaway win now highly possible, Rolland and Fraile relayed knowing the stage win was in sight.
Meanwhile, in the maglia rosa group, Pinot launched an attack over the top of Monte Fumaiolo but it wasn't enough to trouble Nibali, Quintana or Dumoulin.
Costa once again attacked the chasing group on the slight uphill between the two downhill sections and managed bridge the 11 second gap to join the front of the race again with Fraile and Rolland.
The gap from the front trio to the chasing group was barely ten seconds at this point - thanks to the riders spending more time checking each other than attempting a stage win - and Kangert took advantage by bridging into the final 2km.
The Astana man - looking for a stage win in memory of late teammate, Michele Scarponi - was the first to sprint but it was Fraile who completed a phenomenal stage with his first Grand Tour victory.
After being well protected by his teammates all day, Dumoulin crossed the line with his GC rivals and should keep the maglia rosa until the next mountain stage on stage 14.
Stage 12 from Forli to Reggio Emilia is earmarked as a sprinters stage. At 229km it's the longest on the 2017 Giro d'Italia and the only features are two small categorised climbs, making the outcome almost entirely certain to be sprint finish.
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