With Chris Froome, Thibaut Pinot, Miguel Angel Lopez, and Fabio Aru on the start line, the climbing fest that is Tour of the Alps should give us a clue who’s peaking nicely for the Giro.
Tour of the Alps: Arco to Folgaria, 134.6km
Pello Bilbao took a sparkling finneseur’s victory and the fuschia jersey, kicking away in the closing kilometres after Astana put five riders into the select group that emerged on the 19km final climb. Teammate Luis Leon Sanchez raced clear in the finale to grab second place with Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec’s young Colombian Ivan Ramiro Sosa taking third. These three were 10secs ahead of the group containing Froome and Pinot.
Video…
A year ago the late Michele Scarponi won the first stage, today Pello dedicated his victory to him.
My fifth pro victory has a special taste, right because of this coincidence, coming one year after the final win by ‘Scarpa’. Michele always has a place in our hearts, he is a source of inspiration and motivation, and to repeat his feat in this Tour of the Alps debut makes it even more significant. This victory is for him, and his family.
Androni’s supremo Gianni Savio will be delighted with this 70th birthday present from his young Colombian rider…
I’m not sure how LottoNL-Jumbo’s Kiwi rider George Bennett made the start line today, but so relieved he’s OK. Full story here
Chris Froome will not comment further on the Salbutamol situation and leaves the talking to his legs
We’ve been asking Ou est Kenny? a lot recently. Today we saw him reeling in a stomping Pinot attack. *wipes a little tear*
Another great race poster from Team Dimension Data…
Full race report at Cycling News
Race website. Twitter #TotA
Header Image: Pello Bilbao (Astana) – Tim de Waele/Getty Images