Fourteenth place for Fernando Tercero in the demanding finish at Sestola
44ª Giro d´Italia U23
Stage 5: Fanano – Sestola (142,5 km)
Fernando Tercero from La Mancha was again ahead in the Giro Giovani 2021 after finishing fourteenth on Monday in a tough stage with finish in Sestola, even more demanding due to the weather. Juan Ayuso regained the maglia rosa after attacking on the Colle Passerino. A day that left very important differences.
The breakaway, which took a long time to form, finally involved up to 26 riders. A large group in which attacks were soon to follow, with Irishman Ben Healy taking the lead, while in the pink jersey group there was a split in the second group with Davide Piganzoli, Álex Martín and Fernando Tercero riding in the second group.
The ascent to Poggioraso, the penultimate climb of the day, was the scene of multiple movements, while behind the group of the U23 riders of the Foundation managed to reach the top twenty seconds behind. After the descent, practically at the base of the climb to Colle Passerino, there was a brief regrouping. The leader suffered as Ayuso went on the attack with six kilometres to go.
In a spiral of movements, Tercero found his rhythm and finished 2’28” behind Ayuso. Piganzoli finished 20th, 2’41” behind. Martin, 38th, 3’23” behind. “It wasn’t a bad day for us”, says Fernando Tercero, who is now 15th overall at 3’18”. “It was a very tough stage. It was already a tough stage in terms of its profile, but the weather made it even tougher: on the downhills you could also get hurt. I’m happy with how it went and I think we’ll get better as the days go by”.
Rafa Díaz Justo, team manager: “Monday’s stage was very tough, one of the hardest I’ve seen in the category because of the route, even though there were no big passes, and because of the bit of adverse weather in the form of torrential downpours. In general, we rode quite well. The reading is that on a very complicated day, we managed to get through it well. And it goes on”.
On Tuesday, a long stage with a climb at the end. A route that invites the search for a breakaway and movements with implications for the general classification. 
[📷 @giroditaliau23]
