Heavy fall overshadows 11th stage

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Pascal Ackermann wins the 11th stage of the Giro d’Italia in the photo finish, the longest part of the current stage at 219km. The German relegated the Italian Jonathan Milan and the British Mark Cavendish to second and third place by a hair’s breadth.

Ackermann crosses the finish line in Tortona practically at the same time as Milan, who again thinks he is the winner after winning the second stage. But the target film decided wafer-thin in favor of Ackermann, who triumphed in the Giro for the third time after his two stage victories in 2019. Fabian Lienhard, the only Swiss left in the field after Stefan Küng had left the field, sprinted to 14th place.

Rain leads to violent falls

Geraint Thomas defends the leader’s jersey, but falls in a descent on a sodden road. While the Welshman of the team Ineos-Grenadiers and Primoz Roglic, who also finished second in the general classification, can continue without injuries, Thomas’ teammate Tao Geoghegan Hart, third in the general classification, has to give up the Tour. The 28-year-old 2020 Giro winner has been taken to hospital by ambulance. An investigation has shown that Geoghegan Hart suffered a fracture of his left hip in the fall, which requires surgery.

A short time later, the Spaniard Oscar Rodriguez also loses control of his motorcycle on the descent, hits a traffic sign and crashes into a house wall. The 28-year-old remains conscious, but is also unable to continue the race.

Thursday’s 12th stage covers 179km from Bra to Rivoli and includes two longer climbs before the Giro reaches Switzerland with the mountain finish in Crans-Montana on Friday. (jsl/SDA)

Source : Blick