Pietrobon misses the victory by 100m in the fifth stage of Giro d’Italia and finishes 3rd
Fifth stage, fourth and fifth breakaways… and first podium for Team Polti Kometa in this Giro d’Italia!
After departing from Genoa, Mattia Bais escapes with three other riders and pedals with them for sixty kilometers, before being caught on the descent shortly after the Bracco pass. Upon entering Lunigiana, 75 km from the finish line, another quartet breaks away including Andrea Pietrobon, who had previously helped sprinter Lonardi on the climb. First, the 25-year-old from Belluno gifts Polti Kometa another lead at the Intergiro after Muñoz’s yesterday, and then together with his adventure companions he provides a thrilling emotion…
Having broken away with the course already in progress, these escapees are fresher compared to those who usually start in the morning, while nervousness about the chase spreads through the peloton. Result: the four leaders enter Lucca with enough margin to compete for victory. In the city of the great Puccini, pianist Pietrobon tries to play his symphony: he starts with the lights off before the final corner and creates a gap, being surpassed only by Thomas (Cofidis) and Valgren (EF) less than one hundred meters from the finish line. A 3rd place that constitutes a milestone in Andrea’s career and in the italian ProTeam’s Corsa Rosa, which furthermore closes at the top of the stage team classification.
“We are here to win and I tried to play cleverly to live a beautiful dream! – Pietrobon says – Given that the day before yesterday we were surprised by a big group of sprinters, today as soon as I saw the attack I shot to their wheel. We agreed and rode with the wind in our favor, although at -5km, when the team car told me on the radio that we could really make it, I almost had no more legs. But at the Giro you think a hundred times before giving up, and I held on until I couldn’t take turns anymore and I tried that action 900 meters from the finish line. At -500 I had very strong feelings because I realized I could make it, it’s a pity for the victory that slipped away in the end but I’m happy to have achieved the first important placement as a professional. On a stage like this, giving everything I had.”
“This morning my goal was to get into the breakaway – adds Mattia Bais – but after the KOM there was nothing to do, however there will be many other opportunities and now we enjoy a great result, already focusing on tomorrow’s stage with the gravel roads.”
Sports director Stefano Zanatta can only be proud: “Our guys couldn’t have played it better! We moved immediately again today, then Alpecin Deceuninck raced hard on the climb to put the other sprinters in difficulty and it quickly led to the catch-up. At that point, Andrea managed to break away with other excellent riders and worked very well, including the attempt in the last kilometer. The only sour note on a splendid day, the crash involving Davide Piganzoli and Giovanni Lonardi 35 kilometers from the finish.”
Fortunately, the climber and the sprinter immediately got back on their bikes: updates on their conditions will follow.
