First victory at the Giro for the young Australian sprinter. Bob Jungels retains the Maglia Rosa
Tomorrow’s stage TV live coverage starting from 13.05.

Alberobello, 12 May 2017 – Australia’s Caleb Ewan (Orica-Scott) claimed his first ever stage victory at the Giro d’Italia as he outsprinted Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors) and Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) in a spectacular bunch gallop in Alberobello after Dmitriy Kozontchuk (Gazprom-Rusvelo) and Giuseppe Fonzi (Wilier Triestina) got reined in with 20km to go. Bob Jungels (Quick-Step Floors) retained the Maglia Rosa for the fourth day.
To celebrate stage 7 of the 100th Giro d’Italia, the town of Alberobello dedicated the area next to today’s finish line to the Maglia Rosa, Bob Jungels.

Stage 7’s winner, Caleb Ewan, on stage with the American actor, Patrick Dempsey, TAG Heuer (Official Timekeeper of the Giro d’Italia) ambassador

STATISTICS

First win at the Giro d’Italia for Caleb Ewan. It’s his second Grand Tour victory after stage 5 at the 2015 Vuelta a España.
This is the 30th stage victory for Australian riders at the Giro, 35 years after the first one, by Tasmania’s Michael Wilson in Cortona on 15 May 1982.
The age of the stage winners so far this year: 22 (Gaviria, Ewan), 25 (Polanc, Pöstlberger), 26 (Dillier), 34 (Greipel). Also in 2012, two riders won a stage before turning 23: Taylor Phinney, 21, and Andrea Guardini, 22.

Stage 7 Photo Gallery
Stage 7 Classifications
Stage 8 Maps
Il Garibaldi (Giro d’Italia Official Programme)
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.

FINAL RESULT
1 – Caleb Ewan (Orica – Scott) 224km in 5h35’18”, average speed 40.033km/h
2 – Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors) s.t.
3 – Sam Bennet (Bora – Hansgrohe) s.t.

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1 – Bob Jungels (Quick-Step Floors)
2 – Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) a 6″
3 – Adam Yates (Orica – Scott) a 10″

JERSEYS

Maglia Rosa, leader della classifica generale, sponsorizzata da Enel – Bob Jungels (Quick-Step Floors)
Maglia Ciclamino, leader della classifica a punti, sponsorizzata da Segafredo – Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors)
Maglia Azzurra, leader del Gran Premio della Montagna, sponsorizzata da Banca Mediolanum – Jan Polanc (UAE Team Emirates)
Maglia Bianca, leader della Classifica dei Giovani, sponsorizzata da Eurospin – Bob Jungels (Quick-Step Floors) – la maglia sarà indossata da Adam Yates (Orica – Scott)

PRESS CONFERENCE
Today’s stage winner Caleb Ewan said: “I came to the Giro this year with a lot of expectations on myself. I wanted to win a stage but I had some bad luck. It was frustrating: every loss put an extra pressure. It’s a big relief to finally win. This is my second Grand Tour stage victory now after the [2015] Vuelta. It couldn’t make me happier. It was a super long day with only two guys in the breakaway. We were sitting near the front, side by side, it was pretty relaxing until the last three or four kilometers. I jumped a little bit earlier than I probably would have, but it was a good choice at the end.”

The Maglia Rosa Bob Jungels said: “I don’t really see anything that should make me stress too much. I’m in no rush. This is my fourth day in the Maglia Rosa and there’s no downside to having it. It’s been quite a good Giro for me so far. I want to keep the jersey but not be caught up by the pressure. Today was the first day with no stress due to the wind or the echelons – it was only technical at the end. I won’t be fresh any more after climbing to the Blockhaus on Sunday, but there’s the time trial after that, which should favour me.”

ROUTE
Stage 8 – Molfetta-Peschici 189km – total elevation 2,500m
The route is on flat and straight roads in the first 90km, while the following 100km are constantly undulating, with several curves and changes of direction. Past Manfredonia, the stage clears the Monte Sant’Angelo categorised climb, and then takes the entire scenic route, all the way to Peschici (with a KOM climb in Coppa Santa Tecla and an intermediate sprint in Vieste).

Final kilometres
The stage finale is fairly complex, with a fast-running descent between 5km and 3km from the finish, followed by a short flat stretch, up to 1,500m from the finish. Here begins the closing climb, which grows increasingly steeper as the finish draws nearer (with peaks reaching 12%), and with several sharp bends. The home straight (200m), on 7m wide stone-paved road, has a 9-10% uphill gradient.

#Giro100

PHOTO CREDIT: LaPresse – D’Alberto / Ferrari

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