It was the first one, but probably not the last. Before heading to Italy tomorrow, on the first rest day, Lorenzo Germani made his first breakaway on the Giro this Sunday. Around Vlora, in Albania, the young Italian held the lead up until the day’s final climb, before coming back in the peloton. He was also the first Groupama-FDJ rider to cross the finish line, in sixteenth position, while Mads Pedersen reclaimed the pink jersey thanks to another victory.
Much of the peloton didn’t really know what to expect on Sunday, in the third and final day of racing in Albania. Way south of the capital, Tirana, the riders had to cover a 160-kilometre ride around the city of Vlora, but no less than 3,000 metres of elevation gain were on the menu. Above all, a ten-kilometre climb averaging 7.5% loomed fifty kilometres from the finish, before a long descent and about twenty completely flat kilometres. There was therefore a doubt at the start regarding the day’s scenario, but it ultimately lasted only about ten minutes, which was the time Lorenzo Germani took to enter a six-man breakaway. “We had a goal on this stage, hoping that the pink jersey team would really let it go,” explained Stéphane Goubert. “That didn’t really happen. They eventually played it safe together with Lidl-Trek.”
“The weekend’s balance is good”, Stéphane Goubert
At the front, the Groupama-FDJ rider and his breakaway companions had a maximum lead of only three minutes. Further up the road, while the sprinters were dropped in the peloton on a few steep climbs, the gap was reduced to just one minute before the day’s major ascent. Lorenzo Germani remained the front until midway through the climb, then was caught by the peloton a few hundred metres from the summit. “It’s a pity the scenario didn’t work out in our favor, but he still had a great stage, and it launched the momentum we wanted to create,” added Stéphane. “That’s what we should remember.” Pello Bilbao and Lorenzo Fortunato escaped from the peloton before the downhill, but their attempt ended shortly after entering the final twenty kilometres. A ninety-man peloton, including David Gaudu, Lorenzo Germani, Rémy Rochas, and Kevin Geniets, headed for a sprint, won by Mads Pedersen.The Dane regained the pink jersey, while David Gaudu moved up one place in the general classification (24th). “The balance of these first three days in Albania is good,” concluded Stéphane. “David is gradually improving, and he’s in the mix. We also avoided the crashes, which everyone was a bit worried about. We’re now looking ahead to the fourth stage, which will be made for the sprinters, but first there will be a particular rest day tomorrow. It will start with a long transfer, by bus, then by plane, and the riders will do a short ride once they get to Italy. It will go by very fast.”
