Hart wins Giro Stage 15 as Almeida still in pink
Van der Poel pips Van Aert to win Tour of Flanders
PIANCAVALLO, Italy, Oct 18, (AP): Tao Geoghegan Hart sprinted to victory at the end of the mountainous 15th stage of the Giro d’Italia on Sunday, and João Almeida held onto the overall leader’s pink jersey.
Geoghegan Hart, a British rider with the INEOS Grenadiers team, was part of a trio of riders to reach the summit finish together and he sprinted to edge out Team Sunweb pair Wilco Kelderman and Jai Hindley.
The 25-year-old Geoghegan Hart pointed to the sky and shouted “Nico” as he crossed the line, in tribute to Nico Portal, the INEOS sports director who died in March.
Almeida collapsed onto the floor with exhaustion at the end of the mountainous 185-kilometer (115-mile) leg from Codroipo to Piancavallo.
The Portuguese rider had made a huge solo chase on the first-category climb to the finish, desperate to hold onto the pink jersey.
The 22-year-old Almeida, who rides for the Deceuninck-Quick Step team, managed to finish fourth and remain in the lead but saw his advantage cut to 15 seconds ahead of Kelderman.
Hindley moved into third, 2:56 behind Almeida.
The Giro has its second rest day on Monday before Tuesday’s 16th stage, a hilly 229-kilometer (142-mile) route from Udine to San Daniele del Friuli.
The race was rescheduled from its usual May slot because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Giro ends on Oct 25 with an individual time trial in Milan.
Meanwhile, Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel beat Belgian rider Wout van Aert in a photo finish to win the the Tour of Flanders for the first time on Sunday, while contender Julian Alaphilippe crashed out near the end after hitting a motorbike.
Van der Poel and van Aert sprinted to the line with under 200 meters left and Van der Poel beat his former Cyclo-cross rival by less than half a wheel’s length.
After finding out he’d emulated his father Adrie van der Poel, who won the race in 1986, he raised his bike over his head and shouted in delight. His maternal grandfather was the late Raymond
Poulidor, who finished on the Tour de France podium eight times without ever winning.
Norwegian rider Alexander Kristoff was third, just like last year.
Alaphilippe was in contention until he hit a motorbike 35 kilometers (22 miles) from the end. The French rider was behind Van Aert and Van Der Poel when he appeared not to see the motorbike slowing down to his right.
He hit it with his arm and span off his bike, then lay screaming on the ground as he clutched his right arm. Medics tended to him and he was soon sitting upright and seemed conscious.
First held in 1913, the race in the Flemish Ardennes region is also known as De Ronde and is one of five classics along with Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the Giro di Lombardia.