Gino Mader has won in Ascoli Piceno (San Giacomo), Attila Valter taking the Maglia Rosa!
Gino Mäder from Switzerland powered to a brave solo victory at the end of a 15km final climb above Ascoli Piceno to become only the second rider called Gino to win a stage at the Giro, after Bartali. He made it from a 6-man breakaway from far out to avenge his captain Mikel Landa who crashed out of the race the day before. The battle for the Maglia Rosa in the chasing group saw Egan Bernal and Remco Evenepoel emerging as the two most on-form of the top favourites but the best young rider Attila Valter hung on to become the first Hungarian to lead a Grand Tour. The 22 year old from Groupama-FDJ had prepared to ride the Giro as a domestique for Thibaut Pinot, who was sidelined before the start due to back pains.
STAGE RESULTS
1 – Gino Mäder (Bahrain Victorious) – 160km in 4h17’52”, average speed 37.229 km/h
2 – Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) at 12″
3 – Daniel Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) s.t.
4 – Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) s.t.
5 – Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) at 14″
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1 – Attila Valter (Groupama – FDJ)
2 – Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) at 11”
3 – Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) at 16”
4 – Aleksandr Vlasov (Astana – Premier Tech) at 24″
5 – Louis Vervaeke (Alpecin-Fenix) at 25″
JERSEYS
Maglia Rosa (pink), general classification leader, sponsored by Enel – Attila Valter (Groupama – FDJ)
Maglia Ciclamino (cyclamen), sprinter classification leader, sponsored by Segafredo Zanetti – Giacomo Nizzolo (Team Qhubeka Assos)
Maglia Azzurra (blue), King of the Mountains classification leader, sponsored by Banca Mediolanum – Gino Mäder (Bahrain Victorious)
Maglia Bianca (white), young rider general classification leader, sponsored by Intimissimi Uomo – Attila Valter (Groupama – FDJ), worn by Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck – Quick-Step)
Quotes from Gino Mäder and Attila Valter
First win for Gino Mäder at the Giro. It’s his second pro victory after taking a stage of the Tour of Hainan in China in 2018. The last Swiss rider to win a stage at the Corsa Rosa was Silvan Dillier at Terme Luigiane in 2017.
Mäder is only the second person with the first name of Gino to win a stage at the Giro, after Bartali (17 stage wins from 1935 to 1950).
Attila Valter is the first Hungarian to lead a Grand Tour. He’s the second rider from the French team FDJ, now called Groupama-FDJ, to wear the Maglia Rosa at the Giro, after Bradley McGee did so for two days in 2004.
Never before have the first six stages of the Giro d’Italia been won by riders from six different nations: Italy (Ganna), Belgium (Merlier), The Netherlands (Van der Hoorn), USA (Dombrowski), Australia (Ewan) and Switzerland (Mäder).
Speaking in the press conference, the stage winner Gino Mäder said: “Yesterday was a very sad day to lose Mikel [Landa] due to a crash. Today we had other goals. Obviously, not having to protect Mikel anymore, we had to race aggressively and go for breakaways. Matej [Mohoric] did an incredible job. He believed in me and he said yesterday that this would be the stage for me to win. I’m really happy to finish a win off like this. I actually do not know much about Gino Bartali. My parents have both always been cyclists, I’m just honoured to have the same name but I’m still far away from Bartali’s achievements and I’ll probably never reach his level. For me, the Giro has always been the most beautiful race in the world. It’s the race I always dreamt of being part of. To be a stage winner is even better.”
The Maglia Rosa Attila Valter said: “I’m sorry to disappoint Remco [Evenepoel] and [Egan] Bernal but they will have their chances. I managed to stick with them today. The closer I stayed nearing the finish, the more I believed I’d wear the Maglia Rosa. I was fighting my life for this jersey. I’m super happy it happened. I have good legs these days, I’m already happy with what we have achieved here but I wouldn’t be surprised if there are other surprises later on. I’m hoping to ‘do an Almeida’ and keep the lead for a long time. It gives me a lot of confidence. In the future I want to come back to win the Maglia Rosa on the last day. I still hope for a majestic grande partenza of the Giro in Budapest, and to be part of the race.”
