Italy’s Alberto Dainese (DSM) took advantage of the sprinters’ penultimate chance to triumph in a close “photo-finish” finish on the seventeenth stage of the Giro d’Italia between Pergine Valsugana and Caorle, over 197km, a transition day in that De Brit Geraint Thomas (Ineos) remained with the leader’s pink jersey.
The sprinters were not lacking in the event, nor was the spectacle of a stage dispute over speed, in which Alberto Dainese (Abano Terme, 25 years old) excelled to the millimeter, who put the wheel at the finish for his compatriot Jonathan Milan (Bahrain) and the Australian Michael Matthews (Jayco), giving time in 4h:26:08 to a peloton with an average speed of 44.5 km/h.
The entire peloton arrived compact, without incident, turning a page of transition ahead of the decisive mountain stages and time trial on Saturday. The sprinters were called to the finish and have no options until Sunday in Rome.
The favorites had an active rest day until the Adriatic town of Caorle, a small town of 11,000, surprised by the arrival of the Giro. The general did not move. Geraint Thomas kept the pink jersey with 18 seconds ahead of the Portuguese Joao Almeida (UAE) and 29 seconds ahead of the Slovenian Primoz Roglic (Jumbo Visma).
OUTING WITH DIEGO SEVILLE CHECKED AT ALL TIMES
It was the penultimate stage for the sprinters to show off, therefore a controlled start breakaway was allowed and maintained “au bain-marie” at all times, i.e. tied to 2 or 3km waiting to bring it down.
Just in case, 4 men decided to launch themselves to break a sung prognosis, with Madrid’s Diego Sevilla (Eolo-Kometa), French champion (Cofidis), Brit Quarterman (Corratec) and Belgian Leysen (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
They were all over 2 hours apart in the general classification, so the favorites went to the “office” for the teams interested in reaching the sprint to check the breakaway. It was not a day for the favorites, rather an exercise to rest and reserve strength for the remaining stages, where it will be necessary to pull muscles.
At 23rd from the finish line, Leysen attacked in front with the last blow of the drowning man when the die had already been cast, condemning the breakaway, which took place 5 km from the finish line. In total, the adventure lasted 192 km. A short but intense stage began, with the sprinter teams already in the approach task.
DAINESE BENEFITS FROM THE WORK OF THE DSM AT ADJUSTED ARRIVAL
With the pack packed, the pace picked up as the finish approached. Movistar was visibly up front to put Gaviria in a finishing position, but the Colombian misplaced himself well from the line and could only finish sixth.
DSM with 3 men in front showed his intentions, but Jayco also wanted the loot with Matthews, while Jonathan Milan acted alone and drew his enormous power from afar. The Bahrain runner moved up positions in the last 200 metres, but the transalpine giant was millimeters away from victory.
Dainese was selected as the winner by the arrival photo. It was the third Italian victory in this Giro and the second for the rider from Veneto, who had the honor of raising his arms near his home.
This Thursday, the eighteenth stage will be held between Oderzo and Val di Zoldo (Palafavera), 161 km long. Mountain day with 5 climbs, three of them concentrated in the last 26 km, with Forcella Cibiana (1st, 9.7 km at 7.7%), Coi (2nd, 5.5 km at 9.5%) and the final climb to the finish with Palafavera (2a, 2.3 km at 7%).
Source: El heraldo

I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.