NOVI LIGURE, Italy (AP) — Alec Segaert claimed his first Grand Tour stage victory and Bahrain Victorious teammate Afonso Eulálio increased his overall lead of the Giro d’Italia on Thursday.
The 12th stage was expected to end in a bunch sprint but Segaert jumped from the peloton with just over three kilometers remaining and the Belgian rider even had time to lift up his arms in celebration as he crossed the line.
“Wow, it’s super amazing. It’s my first Giro d’Italia … and then to do it here on the biggest stage, it’s amazing,” said the 23-year-old Segaert, who revealed he had planned the move the night before.
“I had it always in mind … this was my chance to go in the final when they were all on the limit, to push one more effort and then for this result you want to give everything.”
Toon Aerts won the sprint for second place, 3 seconds behind his compatriot at the end of the mainly flat 175-kilometer (109-mile) route from Imperia to Novi Ligure. Guillermo Thomas Silva was third.
Most of the pure sprinters had been dropped on the two climbs shortly before the finale.
Nearly all of the general classification contenders were in the main bunch, but Eulálio picked up six bonus seconds earlier in the stage so increased his advantage to 33 seconds over Jonas Vingegaard.
Thymen Arensman is third overall, 2:03 behind Eulálio.
“It’s impossible not to be happy with this jersey but today is incredible, it’s perfect,” Eulálio said. “Yesterday we changed rooms, (Segaert) is my roommate now and we planned this. But the plans sometimes change.
“But when you do the plans and they work out in the race, it’s perfect, perfect. In the final we arrive with the victory, it’s incredible.”
Friday’s 13th stage is another mainly flat leg that features two lower-classified climbs toward the end. It is a huge target for Italian rider Filippo Ganna, who dominated Tuesday’s time trial, as the 189-kilometer (117-mile) route from Alessandria ends in his hometown of Verbania.
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.
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AP cycling: https://apnews.com/hub/cycling
