As the Giro d’Italia reached Slovenia on Saturday, the breakaway got the better of the bunch while a massive crash disrupted the whole final. Clément Davy managed to join the front group early in the race, but the Frenchman was unable to keep his adventure going when reaching the last climbs. Kasper Asgreen ultimately won solo, while the Groupama-FDJ cycling team avoided the crashes. The attackers should get another opportunity on Sunday.
After 200 kilometres of racing this Saturday, the sprinters could reasonably hope for a new chance in this 2025 Giro d’Italia, in Nova Gorica. A small hill was certainly included on the finishing circuit, to be covered twice, but it didn’t seem hard enough for most of the day’s favorites. Yet, the action was initially very intense at the start in Treviso. A dozen riders, including Enzo Paleni, immediately managed to build a lead of around twenty seconds, and it took the peloton nearly fifteen kilometres to close this dangerous move down. “There was a hard fight, a good group went away, but the peloton didn’t give up,” said Clément Davy. “I felt something was possible, and when I saw Asgreen go, I didn’t think twice, and I went along.” The young Frenchman then took the lead, along with the Dane, Mirco Maestri, Martin Marcellusi, and, very briefly, Louis Meintjes. “Enzo and Clément were in the mix from the start,” said Stéphane Goubert. “Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for Enzo, but Clément reacted well.” However, the peloton remained extremely careful this Saturday, giving the breakaway riders even less of a margin than the day before. The gap barely reached two minutes, then remained slightly above a minute throughout the day.
“Clément has nothing to be ashamed of”, Stéphane Goubert
Entering the final fifty kilometres, the leading quartet therefore had a tiny advantage as they tackled the day’s first climbs, while entering Slovenia. Clément Davy was able to get over the first slopes, but the high pace set by Kasper Asgreen on the classified climb of Goniace, forty kilometres from the finish, was too much for him. The young man was forced to let his companions slip away, while a chaotic final on slippery roads allowed Asgreen to conclude his breakaway with a win. “Everything was in place to do something great, with the weather that favoured us, the finishing circuit in town,” said Clément. “Unfortunately for me, the legs didn’t follow. I’m very disappointed because I had high hopes for today. I’m happy for Asgreen because the breakaway made it, but I would have liked to be part of it for longer.” “Clément has to keep smiling,” added Stéphane. “His job is usually to support his leaders. He now has the freedom to enter breakaways, but it’s a whole different effort. He has to keep going like this; he has nothing to be ashamed of. On the contrary, he has to take something positive from it.” Behind Asgreen, the peloton joined the finish line in various groups after a crash led to numerous splits in the final. Rémy Rochas finished within a second peloton, in twenty-fifth place.
On Sunday, the second week of the Giro will end with a long 220-kilometre stage made for the breakaway, including the climb of Monte Grappa halfway through the race.
