Our rider was in the breakaway again at the Corsa Rosa.
Mauri Vansevenant was among the 25 riders to broke clear from the very outset of stage 17, a move that was initially kept within reach by the peloton, before they decided to slow down and allow the escapees open an eight-minute advantage on the long downhill to Giovo, the first of the day’s three classified climbs.
The rain battered the riders for the first two hours of the stage, but once they passed the halfway point of the stage, the grey clouds and penetrating cold made way to a beautiful blue sky and mild temperatures, which gave the attackers an extra push on the slopes of Passo del Vetriolo. Holding an advantage of six minutes, the escapees began attacking each other, a series of accelerations splitting the leading group. Initially dropped, Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl’s 22-year-old dug deep to return to the front, which he did thanks to a mammoth effort and his never-say-die attitude.
On the gruelling Monterovere, a climb where Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) attack to take the victory in Lavarone, the group fragmented once again, but Mauri didn’t throw the towel, and after being initially caught by the maglia rosa and the other GC favourites, he found extra resources to sprint to seventh place. It was the Belgian’s second top 10 at the Giro, after the one he nabbed on Mount Etna, in the first week, a result that moved him up three places in the overall standings.
“I had a really good feeling today, so I knew there was something in the legs. But it’s a bit the story of this Giro, as I came a small percent too short and couldn’t finish it off, despite being in the right move. The weather conditions were quite okay, in the beginning we got some rain but later on in the race it cleared up and we had sun. At the end I just tried to ride my own pace and hang on, because if you know you can’t follow the best, I don’t think you can do more. I went deep the last couple of days, I already gave a lot so now I’ll try to recover a bit before the last stages”, an upbeat Mauri said.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
