In a rare Giro d’Italia stage that was one with a possiblity for a bunch sprint victory, Francesco Chicchi was there thanks to the efforts of his teammates. However, Sacha Modolo (Colnago) crashed, and Chicchi’s unlucky position behind that crash, cost him a potential race victory in Stage 11. As a result, Chicchi was not in ideal position. Roberto Ferrari (Androni Ciocattoli) had the fortune of being in front of the crash, and won on Wednesday. Tomas Vaitkus (Orica-GreenEDGE) was 3rd.
“Today I was really strong,” Chicchi said. “I really would to win in my home region. I don’t live far from the finish line. I want to do something good. But, in the last corner, 300 meters from the finish Modolo crashed as he entered the corner too quickly. The first part of the group broke into pieces. Ferrari was in front, and I was stuck behind the crash. When I realized Ferrari was leaving alone I tried to do my sprint, but it was a little bit too late even though I did a great sprint. The problem was, when Modolo crashed it created a fracture between Ferrari and me. That’s why he was so far in front today.”
Still, Chicchi wanted to thank his teammates for putting him in position.
“I want to thank the team for the big effort today,” Chicchi said. “Especially Bandiera — in the final I lost contact in the last climb, 200 meters from the top of it, but Bandiera led me in the final in the downhill and we were able to catch up with the group again. It was a really long stage, but the team was around me. I did my best, the condition is there, and I am growing up day by day. There are two more possibilities for the sprinters. I will try to grab one victory in one of the next days.”
