Jonas Vingegaard seizes control of the Giro d'Italia with solo win on brutal 14th stage
PILA, Italy (AP) — Pre-race favorite Jonas Vingegaard moved into the overall lead of the Giro d’Italia on Saturday, emphatically taking control of the race by soloing to victory on the brutal 14th stage. Vingegaard attacked on the daunting climb up to the finish, with just under five kilometers remaining, and no one could follow. The Team Visma-Lease a Bike rider beat Felix Gall by 49 seconds, with Jai Hindley nine seconds further back.
The 133-kilometer (83-mile) route from Aosta included five climbs, two of them ranked category one, including a huge 16-kilometer (10-mile) slog up to the finish at Pila Afonso Eulálio, who had been in pink since finishing second in the fifth stage , was dropped on the final climb and finished nearly three minutes behind Vingegaard. The young Portuguese rider managed to remain second in the overall standings, 2:26 behind Vingegaard and 24 seconds ahead of Gall, who moved into third. Sunday’s 15th stage will offer the riders some respite before a tough final week in the high mountains.
The entirely flat 157-kilometer (98-mile) route starts in Voghera and ends with four laps of a circuit in Milan. The 109th men’s Giro ends on May 31 in Rome. The women’s Giro runs from May 30-June 7 with Italian rider Elisa Longo Borghini as the defending champion.
___ AP cycling: https://apnews. com/hub/cycling