Nico Denz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) soloed to victory on stage 18 of the Giro d’Italia after attacking from a reduced group on the finishing circuit in Cesano Maderno.
The 31-year-old German rider, a former two-time stage winner at the Giro, took Red Bull’s first victory of the race after distancing a group containing Dylan van Baarle (Visma-Lease a Bike) and America’s Larry Warbasse (Tudor Pro Cycling), among others, in the closing kilometres.
An initial 35 man breakaway went clear earlier on in the stage - including Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike)and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) - although the group lost any cohesion as the finish approached. After the move split, Denz capitalised on the hesitation and time-trialled away to salvage Red Bull’s Giro after the German team lost Primož Roglič to injury on stage 16.
There was no change at the top of the general classification after Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) and Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike) all finished safely together in the peloton.
"This was probably the most emotional one after losing Jai [Hindley] early on and then Primož," Denz said afterwards on TNT Sports. "We invested a lot, everybody in the whole team, not only the riders. We had this one big goal to win the Giro with Primož Roglič, we were at altitude for two months. It’s now been three months since I was last at home, I didn't see my wife, my children.
"In the end, if you lose a rider like Primož then you're also losing a dream. It feels like all this hard work is for nothing, but luckily we turned it around and could motivate ourselves again. Giulio [Pellizzari] is doing a fantastic job at this Giro, and then winning here for me today, on Father's Day, is pretty special."
Before Roglič abandoned, Red Bull lost Jai Hindley on stage six after a huge crash briefly neutralised the race. Denz, and Red Bull, were forced to reset.
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He said: "After Primož left the Giro, I went through the road book and between Mortirolo and the Colle de Finestre on Saturday there was only this stage that could possibly be for me. I had to plan, I also got the freedom to go for it, and then when I got in the break I was just following my instincts. In the final everyone stopped collaborating in the front group, so I just thought I’d give it a shot and managed to get the gap."
How it happened
(Image credit: Getty Images)
A huge breakaway got clear almost straight from the flag drop on what was set to be a transitional stage at the Giro. Starting in Morbegno to the north of Lake Como, the race then headed south to Cesano Maderno where the riders would face two laps of a finishing circuit which, on paper, appeared to favour a sprinter.
Three categorised climbs came in the first half of the 144 kilometre stage, with the peloton seemingly happy to sit back and allow the breakaway to fight it out for the stage win.
Several high-profile names were in the 30-rider strong lead group. Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Christian Scaroni (XDS-Astana) were all present in the move; the trio had already won stages during this year’s edition of the race. Van Aert and Pedersen both had teammates alongside them: Dylan van Baarle (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek).
The breakaway soon had a gap of more than ten minutes; three men jumped out of the group on the last uphill section of the stage. Rémy Rochas (Groupama-FDJ) and two VF Bardiani riders, Martin Marcellusi and Manuele Tarozzi, briefly held a slim advantage before they were swallowed up by the Pedersen led chase group.
With 34 kilometres to go, the leaders were into the finishing circuit in Cesano Maderno as their advantage rose to upwards of eleven minutes. Eight riders went clear from the breakaway as the circuit began, including Van Baarle and Daan Hoole (Lidl-Trek). The group soon had more than a minute on the rest of the leaders.
As the rest of the group began to watch one another, Nico Denz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) opened up a large gap after putting in a powerful seated acceleration. The German rider, a former Giro stage winner, then pushed on and built up a significant advantage. Meanwhile, behind Denz, the chasers began to attack one another, allowing him to push on and take Red Bull’s first stage win of the race.
1. Nico Denz (Ger) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, in 3:12:07 2. Mirco Maestri (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta, +1:01 3. Edward Planckaert (Bel) Alpecin-Deceuninck 4. Filippo Magli (Ita) VF Group-Bardiani 5. Alex Edmondson (Aus) Picnic-PostNL 6. Dries de Bondt (Bel) Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale 7. Daan Hoole (Ned) Lidl-Trek 8. Davide de Pretto (Ita) Jayco-AlUla 9. Nicola Conci (Ita) XDS-Astana 10. Larry Warbasse (USA) Tudor Pro Cycling, all at same time
General classification after stage 18
1. Isaac Del Toro (Mex) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, in 68:56:32 2. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost, +41s 3. Simon Yates (GBr) Visma-Lease a Bike, +51s 4. Derek Gee (Can) Israel-Premier Tech, +1:57 5. Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain Victorious +3:06 6. Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos Grenadiers, +4:43 7. Giulio Pellizzari (Ita) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +5:02 8. Einer Rubio (Col) Movistar, +6:09 9. Adam Yates (GBr) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +7:45 10. Michael Storer (Aus) Tudor Pro Cycling, +7:46
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After previously working in higher education, Tom joined Cycling Weekly in 2022 and hasn't looked back. He's been covering professional cycling ever since; reporting on the ground from some of the sport's biggest races and events, including the Tour de France, Paris-Roubaix and the World Championships. His earliest memory of a bike race is watching the Tour on holiday in the early 2000's in the south of France - he even made it on to the podium in Pau afterwards. His favourite place that cycling has taken him is Montréal in Canada.
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