Mikel Landa: ‘All aspirations were lost in one second, but knew I could still get something the Giro’

Team Sky's Mikel Landa says he is delighted with his stage win and KOM jersey despite seeing his GC hopes evaporate early in the Giro d'Italia

On the final climb of Piancavallo, Landa learned from his previous failings and launched an early attack against Rui Costa. The Team Sky rider paced himself as he raced up the last climb alone and paid tribute to friend Michele Scarponi with his victory.

(Image credit: Yuzuru Sunada)

A parked police motorbike ruined Mikel Landa's bid for the Giro d'Italia general classification, but Team Sky's Basque rider says he kept hope leading to stage 19's summit finish victory at the Piancavallo ski resort.

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Gregor Brown

Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.