Koen Bouwman took the charge over the Peloton to win stage 19 of Giro d’Italia. How he ascended over the Santuario di Castelmonte said a lot about his power and techniques. Apart from just winning the stage, he was also awarded the mountains jersey because of the points he won, what he needs to do is retain that performance for some days.
Bouwman got to share the podium with Mauro Schmid (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) who was angered for being pushed back and Alessandro Tonelli (Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè) who finished third. This was a remarkable day for Team Jumbo-Visma who won the stage, with the event soon coming to an end, things will only ramp up from here.
Richard Carapaz still retains the Maglia Rosa as there is no change in the top trio. Surprisingly, there is only a slight difference of 3 seconds between Carapaz and Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe).
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How It Went Down
Just as Giro d’Italia is coming to a close, the tensions are sky high and difficulty has also been ramped up. With the desperation out of control for some teams to win a stage win, foolish decisions were bound to be made. That is how the rest of this stage went down, with teams fighting against each other.
The prediction for the opening 30km of the stage was spot on, riders were at each other’s throats. Riders tried opting for high speeds but this move would prove to be unsustainable for the rest of the stage. Eventually, a front group formed. This group contained the likes of Andrea Vendrame (AG2R Citroën), Tobias Bayer (Alpecin-Fenix), Alessandro Tonelli (Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè), Magnus Cort (EF Education-EasyPost), and others.
When the time for the climb came, Bouwma got the most points thanks to his climbing skills presented on the Passo di Tanamea and the Kolovrat. He got the mountains jersey, now he needs to hold on to that. When the riders started fighting with each other that is when the Dutchman came for the kill and swept the floor with an amazing stage victory.
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Also Read: Arnaud Démare Recalls Giro D’Italia Points Battle Was Tougher With Peter Sagan In 2020
Featured Image Via YouTube/Cycling Pro Net
