Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz has won the 102nd Giro d’Italia as he defended his lead with composure to retain an advantage of 1’05” over Vincenzo Nibali while Primoz Roglic regained his spot on the podium at the expense of Mikel Landa. American rider Chad Haga won the closing time trial in Verona ahead of Belgians Victor Campenaerts and Thomas De Gendt.
STATISTICS
- First WorldTour win for Chad Haga. As a professional, he had only won stage 1 of the Tour of Elk Grove in 2013. He finished 6th on stage 9 to San Marino in this year’s Giro.
- Richard Carapaz is the first Ecuadorian and the second South American to win the Giro d’Italia after Nairo Quintana in 2014, both riding for Movistar.
- This decade, five new nations have been added to the tally of overall victories at the Giro d’Italia: Canada (in 2012 with Ryder Hesjedal), Colombia (in 2014 with Quintana), The Netherlands (in 2017 with Tom Dumoulin), Great-Britain (in 2018 with Chris Froome) and now Ecuador.
- 11th final podium for Vincenzo Nibali in a Grand Tour, just as many as Chris Froome. Only Jacques Anquetil (13), Felice Gimondi, Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault (12) have more. It’s his sixth podium at the Giro d’Italia, on pair with Alfredo Binda, Giovanni Brunero, Anquetil and Francesco Moser. Only Gimondi (9), Gino Bartali, Fausto Coppi and Gilberto Simoni (7) have more.
- Primoz Roglic is the first Slovenian to make the final podium of a Grand Tour. His previous best place was 4th at the 2018 Tour de France.
VELON DATA
Data collected by Velon’s devices on the riders’ bikes tell the detailed story of the stage. Data and an explanation guide can be downloaded here.
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1 – Richard Carapaz (Movistar Team)
2 – Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain – Merida) at 1’05”
3 – Primoz Roglic (Team Jumbo – Visma) at 2’30”
4 – Mikel Landa (Movistar Team) at 2’38”
5 – Bauke Mollema (Trek – Segafredo) at 5’43”
JERSEYS
- Maglia Rosa (pink), general classification leader, sponsored by Enel – Richard Carapaz (Movistar Team)
- Maglia Ciclamino (cyclamen), sprinter classification leader, sponsored by Segafredo – Pascal Ackermann (Bora – Hansgrohe)
- Maglia Azzurra (blue), King of the Mountains classification leader, sponsored by Banca Mediolanum – Giulio Ciccone (Trek – Segafredo)
- Maglia Bianca (white), young rider general classification leader, sponsored by Eurospin – Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana Pro Team)
FINAL RESULT
1 – Chad Haga (Team Sunweb) – 17.0km in 22’07”, average speed 46.119km/h
2 – Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Soudal) at 4?
3 – Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal) at 6?
PRESS CONFERENCE
Giro d’Italia winner Richard Carapaz said in the press conference: “I want to enjoy this victory with my wife, my kids and speak on the phone with my parents. I’m very proud of what I achieved. I’m delighted to make my dream of winning a Grand Tour come true. We must never forget our childhood dreams. They can always become reality with hard work and determination. In my four years in European cycling, I realized that opportunities have to be caught. The thirty seconds I gained on stage 15 were fundamental. I profited from [Vincenzo] Nibali and [Primoz] Roglic watching each other. That’s where the Giro was decided. For me, it’s only the beginning I think. We always dream for more.”
Second placed Vincenzo Nibali said: “This morning, I knew it would be extremely difficult to win the Giro d’Italia. But I thought I could do a good time trial. So I gave it all until the end. Second at the Giro is still a good result, especially thinking that six months ago, I was down with a big back pain after the crash at the Tour de France. To be back fighting for the overall victory in a Grand Tour is something positive.”
Third placed Primoz Roglic said: “It’s super nice to end up on the final podium after the different problems I’ve had. I felt tired today but after I badly suffered from my stomach in the mountains, I didn’t think I’d be competitive in this time trial.”
The stage winner Chad Haga said in the press conference: “It’ll take a bit longer to realize but it’ll come. My victory is of course a consolation price after Tom Dumoulin pulled out. I came in top form but it was a support form. During the time trial, I kept thinking this is what Tom would have been doing today if he was here. I thought today I had a real possibility because the course suited me very well and for sure better than the one of stage 9. As an American, I feel very proud of winning a stage at the Giro d’Italia.”
Points Classification winner Pascal Ackermann said: “The atmosphere in the arena is fabulous. I have never experienced anything like this before. It makes me feel special about the getting the Cyclamen jersey, which was a childhood dream. Coming to the Giro, I was only hoping for a victory but after I won two stages, it looked worth trying to go for the jersey as well. But I was very disappointed after my crash. I lost a lot of points but we kept working on getting it back. I wasn’t expecting what I’ve experienced over these three weeks and I’m just happy about everything.”
King of the Mountains Giulio Ciccone said: “It’s been a beautiful Giro, even a bit above my expectations. It all started with trying to get it riding the San Luca flat out on day one, and I’ve had the jersey almost all the time, except when my roommate Gianluca Brambilla got it for a day. It was worth fighting every day and getting the Mortirolo stage win as well.”
Best young rider Miguel Angel Lopez said: “The result at this Giro is a bit less than what we hoped for but it wasn’t because of bad legs, it’s been because of bad luck. But it’s fine because we’ve battled through and given our best as always. For one year, I’ve been thinking that I can win the Giro one day and I’ll come back for winning it.”