The Italian showed his climbing potential Friday afternoon.
Thomas Pesenti impressed on the penultimate day of the AlUla Tour, finishing a remarkable sixth after a huge ride on the gruelling Skyviews of Harrat Uwayrid climb, where the maximum gradient reached 22%. The 25-year-old from Fontanellato, a member of our Devo squad, is racing with the World Tour team in what is his first outing of the season, which makes Friday’s result even more noteworthy.
As expected, the fight for victory unfolded on the steepest part of the ascent, where Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) forced a selection before going solo to take the victory. Behind, several groups chased the Brit, and Pesenti – despite coming from far back – managed to make inroads and join the second group, which trailed the green jersey by around 35 seconds. Once they crested the top and returned on the flat, the pursuers clawed back some time and concluded the stage some 20-odd seconds behind the leader of the race, and Thomas proved to be the fastest from that group, finishing a solid sixth.
“The first part of the stage was easy, not stressful, as we all knew the hardest part would come in the last 20 kilometers. The final ascent was incredibly steep but I did my best. Before the top I made it into a small group and we could see those at the front, but we missed out on joining them for just a couple of seconds. I started my sprint with 300 meters to go and I am happy with taking sixth, especially as I was disappointed after the first climbing stage, so to make up for that now feels really good and it’s also important for my confidence”, said Thomas after the result that catapulted him into the top 20 overall with one stage to go.
Photo credit: ©Szymon Gruchalski / Getty Images
