The Belgian will be remembered for being one of the most offensive riders of this edition.
The penultimate stage of the race took the peloton deep into the Dolomites, Passo San Pellegrino, Passo Pordoi and Passo Fedaia ensuring a process of attrition and widening the gaps between the general classification ahead of the final individual time trial in Verona, which will bring down the curtain over the 105th edition. The day accumulated over 5000 meters of climbing, but that didn’t stop Davide Ballerini and Mauri Vansevenant from forging clear in the opening kilometers of the stage together with a dozen other riders, putting six minutes between them and the maglia rosa group.
Vansevenant, who joined the breakaway for the fourth time since the start of the season, and Ballerini, who rode into the leading group for the second day in a row, motored at the front, helping the move gradually increase their advantage over a bunch who had its own battle for the general classification. The escapees remained together until five kilometers from the top of Pordoi, where they began attacking each other in the hope of making that race-winning move.
Mauri fought hard to remain at the front, but the effort of the last three weeks and the double-digit gradients that didn’t give a moment of respite put an end to his hopes, and he eventually got caught by the depleted peloton. Despite this, the young Belgian continued to use every single ounce of energy to make it to the finish, and is now just one day away from concluding the Giro d’Italia as Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl’s highest-ranked rider.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
