Some more mountains, and some more fighting spirit for the Groupama-FDJ cycling team. On Wednesday, in stage 17 of the Giro, which included the famous Passo del Mortirolo, it was Kevin Geniets who managed to make his way to the front of the race. Battling throughout the day, the Luxembourger ultimately took twentieth place, around 2’30 behind the winner and pink jersey, Isaac del Toro. This is his third top-20 finish since the start of the Corsa Rosa.
The day’s menu on the Giro d’Italia, from San Michele all’Adige to Bormio, looked slightly easier than the day before. Just slightly, because this seventeenth stage still featured nearly 4,000 metres of elevation gain, with two major climbs, the Passo del Tonale and the Passo del Mortirolo, followed by the last thirty kilometers, more or less uphill. The start of the race also took place on a slightly ascending profile, where the battle for the breakaway took place for around forty kilometres before a small peloton went clear. Always up there since the start, Groupama-FDJ was able to place Kevin Geniets in the front. “Today, it was really in the head,” he said. “I followed several good moves, they all got neutralized, but I really didn’t want to give up as I wanted to be in the right one.” “We want to keep this aggressive mindset and this will for anticipation,” added Thierry Bricaud. “We were often well represented, the others also followed some moves, but it was Kevin who entered the right group. We knew the stage would suit him, and he was motivated for it as well.”
“We’re making the most of our opportunities,” Kevin Geniets
The rider from Groupama-FDJ and his breakaway companions were unable to enjoy a very large lead, however, as the peloton maintained a gap of around three minutes. On the Passo del Tonale, the break was reduced to around twenty men, and Kevin Geniets was still there. However, when the top climbers accelerated on the Passo del Mortirolo (12.7 km at 7.6%), he had to let them go. “It went extremely fast all day, and on the Mortirolo, I took my own pace so as not to blow up,” he explained. “This allowed me to stay with the favourites group after the downhill.” First caught by Richard Carapaz, the Luxembourger then found himself in the thin pink jersey peloton and held on until the final climb of the day at Le Motte (3 km at 8% gradient), located nine kilometres from the finish. The GC contenders gave their last shot, the last men standing from the breakaway were caught, and Isaac del Toro claimed victory in Bormio.
As for Kevin Geniets, he fought hard to the end to secure a decent twentieth place at the finish. “I did the best I could today,” he said. “It’s in line with what we’ve been doing for several days. We’re giving our 100% and making the most of our possibilities.” “The result is what is, but what we’ll remember most is the group’s spirit,” Thierry emphasized. “Today it was Kevin who benefited from it, but they are on the attack every day, we saw it again today. There might be a good opportunity tomorrow. The sprinters hope to bring a bunch finish, but there are quite a few difficulties to overcome, there will be domestiques missing, and many riders in the peloton want the breakaway to go all the way as it is one of the only opportunities to win a stage when you are not a pure climber. There will be a big fight, that’s for sure.”
