VIVIANI MATCHES EXPECTATIONS; DENNIS MOVES INTO THE LEAD
Amazing response from the crowd in Haifa and Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv, 5 May 2018 – Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors), who was the hot favourite for Stage 2, won an expected bunch gallop in Tel Aviv on the Mediterranean seaside, while Jakub Mareczko (Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia) made it a 1-2 for Italian riders. Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing Team) moved into the lead as he won the only intermediate sprint awarding a time bonus to dethrone Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb), thus becoming the ninth Australian to wear the Maglia Rosa and the 23rd cyclist to lead all three Grand Tours.
STATISTICS
Rohan Dennis is the 23rd cyclist to lead each of the three Grand Tours, after Eddy Merckx (201 stages or semi stages in the lead), Bernard Hinault (125), Jacques Anquetil (110), Miguel Indurain (93), Francesco Moser (71), Alberto Contador (66), Alex Zülle (64), Vincenzo Nibali (60), Felice Gimondi (46), Freddy Maertens (37), Laurent Jalabert (36), Dietrich Thurau (27), Bradley Wiggins (19), Rik van Looy (17), Cadel Evans (15), Rik van Steenbergen (11), Thierry Marie, Raphaël Geminiani, Fabio Aru (10), Bradley McGee (9), David Millar and Mark Cavendish (7).
Rohan Dennis is the ninth Australian to lead the Giro d’Italia after Cadel Evans, Bradley McGee, Robbie McEwen, Brett Lancaster, Richie Porte, Michael Matthews, Simon Gerrans and Simon Clarke.
It’s Elia Viviani’s second stage win at the Giro d’Italia – also on stage 2 back in 2015.
It’s the third podium at the Giro d’Italia for Jakub Mareczko after two second places last year, and the fifth for Sam Bennett who was three times third and once second last year.
Refaeli awards Rohan Dennis on the Tel Aviv Podium
DOWNLOAD
Stage 2 Photo Gallery
Stage 2 Classifications
Stages, Climbs, Intermediate Sprints and Jerseys points (in Excel format)
Giro d’Italia 2018 Maps and Timetables
Il Garibaldi (Giro d’Italia Roadbook)
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 – Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors) – 167km in 3h51’20”, average speed 43.314km/h
2 – Jakub Mareczko (Wilier Triestina – Selle Italia) s.t.
3 – Sam Bennett (Bora – Hansgrohe) s.t.
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1 – Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing Team)
2 – Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) at 1″
3 – Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Soudal) at 3″
JERSEYS
Maglia Rosa (pink), general classification leader, sponsored by Enel – Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing Team)
Maglia Ciclamino (cyclamen), sprinter classification leader, sponsored by Segafredo – Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors)
Maglia Azzurra (blue), King of the Mountains classification leader, sponsored by Banca Mediolanum – Enrico Barbin (Bardiani CSF)
Maglia Bianca (white), young rider general classification leader, sponsored by Eurospin – Maximilian Schachmann (Quick-Step Floors)
PRESS CONFERENCE
The stage winner Viviani said: “I usually ride well in the Middle East but I was nervous before coming to the Giro. Tomorrow there will be another occasion to win a stage but I’m already relieved. It’s amazing to start the Giro on the right foot. To ride for Quick-Step at this stage of my career was an opportunity not to be missed. There’s a group of riders 100% behind me. My goal here is to win stages – maybe one more – and the second goal is the Maglia Ciclamino. In the technical meeting, we decided to go for the first intermediate sprint in order to save my legs for the finish. Before the other one, I saw BMC pulling and Sunweb not being interested in defending the lead. I followed [Victor] Campenaerts and I scored some easy points there, but I didn’t want to interfere in the fight for the Maglia Rosa. When I went on stage for the award ceremony, I was amazed by the number of people who were there to cheer. It’s never guaranteed that a bike race encounters success abroad but the crowd here has been fantastic so far.”
The Maglia Rosa Dennis said: “Yesterday it would have been great to get a stage win, but I didn’t. Today I collected a three-second bonus through an intermediate sprint. I wasn’t overly keen to do it but the team said I should, and they did a perfect job to get me in the position to win the sprint. Therefore, my three leader’s jerseys in Grand Tours arrived in a different way: I got the yellow of the Tour de France through an individual time trial, and the red of the Vuelta a España through a team time trial, which gave me a bittersweet feeling because the whole team won and I was the only one wearing the jersey. Now the Maglia Rosa comes through a sprint on the road at halfway through the stage the day after a time trial. At some stage, I’m gonna lose this jersey. The second and third week are a bit too hard for me.”
The Maglia Azzurra Barbin said: „I didn’t even think about it but I heard after the finish that I beat a rider from home soil for the KOM. But this is cycling. Congratulations to them but this time I’m the winner. I wasn’t targeting the climber’s jersey but the breakaway was close and we heard from the car that we could try so I tried and it went well.“
TOMORROW’S STAGE
Stage 3 – Be’er Sheva-Eilat 229km – total elevation 1,000m
The route follows the mild undulations of the Negev desert. The roads are always wide and well paved. The route takes a long run across a rocky landscape and becomes rougher, especially when emerging from the Ramon Crater, with a categorised climb set in Faran River. The final part of the route descends slightly towards the Red Sea and enters the city before hitting the finish line.
Final kilometres
Over the last 6km, the road narrows while passing through a checkpoint. After taking in a series of roundabouts, the route eventually takes a U-turn 1.6km before the finish, at another roundabout before leading into the final kilometre. The last bend is 350m from the finish line (on 7.5m-wide asphalt road).
TV COVERAGE
Stage 3 of the Giro d’Italia International TV Schedule available here.
#Giro101
Photo Credits: LaPresse – D’Alberto / Ferrari / Paolone / Alpozzi
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