When he touched wheels with another cyclist, crashed and dropped his chain just 5 miles from the finish line on Sunday, it looked like American Taylor Phinney’s brief spell as Giro d’Italia leader was about to come to an end.
The 21-year-old cyclist on the BMC Racing squad on Saturday had become only the third American ever to wear the overall leader’s jersey in the Giro, and it looked like it might be a one-day event.
By the time he set off again, the head of the peloton was 30 seconds up the road. Teammates Danilo Wyss and Alessandro Ballan dropped back to help him, and ushered back up to the leading group.
Even though he finished in 51st place, he finished in the midst of the large leading group that was awarded the same time.
“I was definitely in a sort of a panic mode, but was relieved I kept the jersey.”
The son of cycling stars of a previous era, Davis Phinney and Connie Carpenter-Phinney, retains his 9-second lead as the peloton heads into Monday’s Stage 3. It’s the third and final day of the Giro in Denmark. Tuesday is a rest day, and the remainder of the 3-week bike race will resume on Italian soil.
The 128-mile, mostly flat bike race finished in Herning, Denmark.
British sprinter Mark Cavendish continued his career of racking up stage wins at the Giro, now as a member of Team Sky. Following his across the finish line in 4th place was Wenatchee,Washington’s Tyler Farrar, the sprinter on Garmin-Barracuda.
Top 10 overall
1. Taylor Phinney (US) BMC
2. Geraint Thomas (Britain) SKY
3. Alex Rasmussen (Den) Garmin
4. Manuele Boaro (Ita) Saxo Bank
5. Gustva Larsson (Swe) Vacansoleil
6. Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin
7. Brett Lancaster (Aus) Orica GreenEdge
8. Marco Pinotti (Ita) BMC
9. Jesse Sergent (NZ) RadioShack
10. Nelson Oliveira (Port) RadioShack
More results at CyclingNews.com and VeloNews.com. Also special coverage at the BMC Racing Grand Tours website.
Recent Comments