Einer Rubio wins the thirteenth stage of the Giro d’Italia, few changes at the top of the classification | Giro

Due to the bad weather in Italy, the organization decided to shorten the stage considerably. Instead of 199 kilometres, the peloton covered only 74.6 kilometres. To accommodate Italian cycling fans, the riders took a show ride around the area in the morning, after which everyone boarded the bus to be transported to the official start. As the team buses were delayed, the stage was not able to start until 3 p.m. in the end.

The start of the thirteenth stage of the Giro has been moved to Le Châble. As a result, the runners immediately embark on the ascent of the Croix de Couer. As soon as the starting signal was given, the riders immediately tried to attack. In the end, an early breakaway ensued with Einer Rubio, Jefferson Cepeda, Matthew Riccitello, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Thibaut Pinot, Bruno Armirail and Derek Gee.

Pinot won the forty points on the Croix de Couer and did good business in the mountain classification. After a risky descent, from which the riders come out unscathed, thirty relatively flat kilometers follow one another until the final climb. There, Pinot showed from the first meter that he wanted to go home with the mountain jersey and the stage victory. He placed attack after attack, but couldn’t get Cepeda’s left ball off his wheel.

Cepeda, Pinot and Rubio remained in the final. There was a lot of irritation between Cepeda and Pinot and they tried to scare each other off several times. In the end, it was the third who won. Rubio turned out to be the freshest after wear and struck in the final hundred meters of the stage. Pinot finished second and took the lead in the mountain classification.

In the group of riders in the classification, Hugh Carthy took six seconds over his competitors. The pink jersey remains on the shoulders of Geraint Thomas. The Briton from Ineos Grenadiers crossed the finish line a minute and a half after the winner and is 2 seconds ahead of the Slovenian Primoz Roglic from Jumbo-Visma.

In the group of favorites, Thomas’ teammates, including Thymen Arensman, set the tone. There were no major attacks, so the rosette-bearer maintained their lead without major problems. Saturday will follow a stage from Sierre to Cassano Magnago with only a big climb at the start of the stage.