The Cycling Disciple

Mikel Landa (Team Sky) atoned for two second place finishes in the last three days as the general classification was blown wide open on stage 19 of Giro 100. Credit: cyclingnews.com Landa earned a well-deserved stage victory at the third time of asking, riding away from Rui Costa (UAE Team Emirates) and Pierre Rolland (Cannondale-Drapac) to claim only his third ever Giro d'Italia win: all of which have come on mountains the great Marco Pantani won on. Nairo Quintana (Movistar) won back the maglia rosa by 38 seconds but three riders - Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb), Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) and Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) - are less than 55 seconds behind with just one mountain stage and a flat time trial remaining. Landa said: "I had a teammate in the breakaway and that was key for my win today. I'm very happy, it's not what we expected at the beginning [to be fighting for stage wins rather than GC] but I'm really proud." "I had bad legs from the s...

Tejay van Garderen (BMC) won his first ever Grand Tour stage as Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) retained his 31 second lead on general classification in the Dolomites on stage 18. Credit: road.cc Van Garderen and Mikel Landa (Team Sky) attacked the breakaway on the descent of the Passo di Pinei Panidersattel and opened a sizable gap before the Pontives climb to Ortisei. Landa didn't learn his lessons when he lost the sprint to Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) on stage 16, and once again lost ground on the final bend to allow American van Garderen to pick up his maiden Grand Tour stage victory. Neither Nairo Quintana (Movistar) or Nibali could make attacks stick on Dumoulin over any of the five categorised climbs and in the end became so preoccupied with the Dutchman that Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) and Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R) took over a minute from them on general classification during the final steep ascent into Ortisei. "It's been a rough couple of years in Grand Tours...

Pierre Rolland ends Cannondale-Drapac's two year drought without a stage win in a Grand Tour with a breakaway on stage 17 of Giro 100.  Credit: cyclingnews.com The French rider - who's last Grand Tour stage win was five years ago on the Tour de France - attacked the breakaway group with 8km remaining and fought on his own to take the stage win in Canazei, 30 years after it was last used on a Giro d'Italia route. This result ends two years of disappointment after Davide Formolo's victory for Cannondale-Garmin on stage four of the 2015 Giro d'Italia. "I'm just so happy", exclaimed a relieved Rolland, "I've waited for this moment for such a long time. The last 50km was attack, attack, left, right, come back. The last 8km there was so much pain everywhere in my body and I just thought, 'ok just keep going'."  Rui Costa (UAE Team Emirates) and Gorka Izaguirre (Movistar) finished at the front of the chasing pack to ...

Bob Jungels (Quick-Step Floors) won his first Grand Tour stage in a sprint finish between the general classification contenders on stage 15 of Giro 100 as Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) retained his maglia rosa. Credit: road.cc Best Young Rider Jungels beat a small group of GC rivals while Nairo Quintana claimed back six bonus seconds on Dumoulin by finishing second. Stage winner Jungels said: "This was my kind of race. Today was real racing - like a classic. I think I showed some panache at the end but it wasn't easy because the others attacked at the end too. It's a great victory for the team - the fifth in fact - so we're not doing too bad." Dumoulin said: "Today was pretty mad. It was a hectic stage, super fast. It was a tricky final but we stayed calm and safe to have another day in pink." A bunch of ten GC riders rode over the final Bergamo Alta climb together and broke away on the descent leaving the winner to be the rider with the best sp...

Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) cracked Nairo Quintana (Movistar) on the climb to the Sanctuary of Oropa to extend his lead in the maglia rosa by 24 seconds as he won stage 14 of the 100th Giro. Credit: cyclingnews.com The Movistar rider had initially attacked on the 11km climb up to the Sanctuary but Dumoulin kept his composure to slowly but surely reel the Colombian back in and out sprint Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin) and Mikel Landa (Team Sky) for the stage victory. A beaming Dumoulin said at the finish: "I knew they [Movistar] would attack and they did. It was very hard but I always had my focus and I was quite relaxed. I couldn't follow the first attack from Quintana so I had to take my own pace and I came closer and closer, and at the end I still had something left for the finish." He was, however, reserved in his confidence of winning the Giro: "There's a lot of climbing to do in the last week and we are far from Milan still." A disheartened ...

Ciclamino jersey holder Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors) completed a hattrick of stage wins at Giro 100 with a comfortable victory on the longest stage of the race. Credit: velonews.com Gaviria finished well ahead of rivals Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe), Andre Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) and Caleb Ewan (Orica-Scott), as the Colombian once again asserted himself as the best sprinter at Giro 100. Jakub Mareczko (Wilier Selle Italia), Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Phil Bauhaus (Team Sunweb) weren't a challenge to Gaviria in the end, with his own lead out man, Maximiliano Richeze (Quick-Step Floors), taking fifth. Gaviria was modest in victory, respecting his rival, Greipel: "I'm not sure I'm the best, Andre Greipel is the best - he has more victories in his career - but I'm the one with the most victories at this Giro. I've got better form which is why I have three wins." Gaviria's teammate, Davide Martinelli, said: "I think we did a rea...

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. Credit: eurosport.com 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. Frai...