Bob Jungels moves up three places in the overall standings after the toughest day so far, which packed in some 5200 vertical meters.
Spread over the 196 kilometers of stage 13, Colle del Lys, Pian del Lupo and Lago Serru made for a bruising race after a fast, intense and aggressive start, which saw 27 riders extricate themselves from an already reduced peloton and establish a three-minute maximum gap.
Surprisingly, in spite of a fierce battle between the GC contenders unfolding behind them as early as the second climb, that buffer proved to be enough for the escapees’ group, who by the time it entered the final kilometers, got whittled down to just a handful of riders. The win eventually went to Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin), following a late attack on the 20.3km Lago Serru.
Distanced on Pian del Lupo, Bob Jungels was paced by teammate Eros Capecchi on the steep gradients of the second-category climb, before motoring down the descent and rejoining the favourites in the valley. Dropped again when attacks began firing out of the bunch, the Luxembourg Champion rode his own steady tempo, not going into the red and limiting the losses after almost six leg-sapping hours in the saddle.
With two stages to go before the second rest day of the Giro d’Italia, Bob remains the best placed Deceuninck – Quick-Step rider on the general classification, which is in for another shake-up on Saturday, when the peloton will travel from Saint Vincent to Courmayeur.
Photo credit: ©Justin Setterfield/ Getty Images
