The eight-century old city hosted a finish for the tenth time in history and for the first time since 2010.
Attacks came thick and fast in the first hour of stage 7, with the peloton traveling at a whooping average speed of 55km/h on the rolling roads of the Abruzzo region. Deceuninck – Quick-Step was among the most active teams on the front, trying to place a rider in the breakaway that took shape only after 60 crazy kilometers, when neo-pro and Grand Tour debutant Mikkel Honoré found himself in a 19-man group.
Instead of relaxing, the bunch continued to ramp up the speed behind the escapees, among whom there were several riders who posed a threat to the pink jersey wearer. Midway through the stage, they got pegged back and another breakaway formed, opening a two-minute maximum lead, which began coming down only with 20 kilometers to go, following a sudden injection of pace in the field.
Five men managed to stay clear and battle for victory on the uphill finish in L’Aquila, where Pello Bilbao (Astana) came out on top. The bunch rolled over the line one minute later, both Bob Jungels and Pieter Serry being there, the latter keeping hold of his eighth place in the general classification, which shouldn’t witness any other changes until Sunday’s testing individual time trial in San Marino.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele/ Getty Images
