Trentin wins stage 18 from breakaway in Giro d’Italia

Matteo Trentin (Etixx-QuickStep) capped an excellent day of racing at the Giro d’Italia with a thrilling stage win in Pinerolo. The Italian fought his way back in the closing stages after being dropped on the Pramartino to catch teammate Gianluca Brambilla and Moreno Moser (Cannondale) in the final few hundred metres before unleashing an unstoppable sprint.

With around 700 meters to go of Giro d’Italia stage 18, the leading duo of Gianluca Brambilla and Moreno Moser (Cannondale) cruised on the streets of Pinerolo. Brambilla, already victorious at this edition, was second wheel, but even though the finish line was getting closer, he kept looking over his shoulder. The reason for that became clear for everybody in just a couple of seconds, as Matteo Trentin came hard from behind and caught them, before passing the two and taking the win, his first ever on Italian soil.

Up until that point, the longest stage of the Giro d’Italia (244 kilometers) saw a massive break get clear after 16 kilometers from the start, no less than 24 riders booking a place in the group that forged a hefty advantage of 14 minutes before the sole categorized climb of the day, Pramartino (4.3 kilometers, average gradient of 10.9%). There, Matteo Trentin did a strong pull at the front before his teammate launched an inspired attack to which only Moreno Moser had a response. Together, the two stayed clear on the descent and on the final climb of the stage, the sharp and cobbled San Maurizio (20% maximum slope), where Moser tried to distance Brambilla, but without any luck.

In the final kilometer, it looked like the stage win will be played in a two-man sprint, but the resilience Matteo Trentin showed, combined with the fact that Gianluca Brambilla didn’t pull anymore, sensing his teammate – who in the meantime attacked from the chasing group – had a chance to come back, led to a different outcome. As soon as he made the junction, the 27-year-old Italian, who’s riding for Etixx – Quick-Step since turning pro, opened his sprint and brought the team’s fourth victory at the 99th edition of the Giro d’Italia, following the two of Marcel Kittel in the Netherlands and the one of Gianluca Brambilla – who on Thursday finished third – in Arezzo.

“After helping Brambi on Pramartino, I just rode my own tempo, so I could survive and recover until the top. Then, on the downhill, I rode full gas and caught Rovny, Arndt and Modolo. Having Gianluca at the front, the pressure was on them, so I stayed at the back of the group and recovered. On the San Maurizio ascent, I launched my attack, made the catch with around 350 meters to go and continued with my acceleration, which brought me this beautiful triumph.”, said Trentin.

Giro d’Italia 2016 – stage 18 results (Muggiò – Pinerolo):

1 Matteo Trentin (Etixx – Quick-Step) 5:25:34
2 Moreno Moser (Cannondale) ST
3 Gianluca Brambilla (Etixx – Quick-Step)  ST
4 Sacha Modolo (Lampre – Merida) +20”
5 Nikias Arndt (Giant-Alpecin) +30”
6 Ivan Rovny (Tinkoff) +34”
7 Matteo Busato (Wilier Triestina-Southeast) +01’10
8 Christian Knees (Sky) +01’16”
9 Axel Domont (AG2R) +01’24”
10 Davide Malacarne (Astana) +04’28”

General classification after stage 18:

1 Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNl-Jumbo) 68:11:39
2 Esteban Chaves (Orica-GreenEdge) +03’00”
3 Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) +03’23”
4 Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) +04’43”
5 Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha) +04’50”
6 Rafal Majka (Tinkoff) +05’34”
7 Bob Jungels (Etixx – Quick-Step) +07’57”
8 Andrey Amador (Movistar) +08’53”
9 Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R) +10’05”
10 Kanstantsin Siutsou (Dimension Data) +11’16”