Piganzoli hangs on with the favourites at the halfway of the Giro d’Italia

A day that included the long, hard climb to Alpe San Pellegrino in the central part saw Team Polti VisitMalta get through stage 11, the halfway point of the Giro d’Italia. Although attacks happened all the time during the climb, the race regrouped on the descent and victory came from the main Piganzoli group, with Carapaz (EF) winning solo.

Very attentive in the thousand and one attacks in the opening kilometres, the Team Polti VisitMalta riders managed to be in a big breakaway of 40 riders that started ahead of the San Pellegrino climb. Davide and Mattia Bais and Alessandro Tonelli broke away, but the attacks in the leader’s group ended up neutralising that attempt.

On the downhill, Davide Piganzoli quickly returned to the main peloton, where riders were joining and the team had three representatives for the final part of the race. Piganzoli fought to finish with the leader’s group (16th), saving a very hard day and thinking about the next stages.

Davide Piganzoli: ‘It was the hardest stage so far in the Giro d’Italia. The pace was very high in San Pelegrino and there was a selection, but I was able to get back to the main group and I stayed with them until the finish. In a stage with more than 3,000 metres of elevation gain, seeing that I can be with them fills me with ambition for the tough stages to come’.

Stefano Zanatta, sport director: ‘It was a very fast start but the team was very attentive, to be part of all the breaks. In that group in San Pelegrino we were able to have three riders, Piga arrived at the end with the best riders to fight for the second place, so the team is still present in the most demanding days’.

This Thursday, the Giro d’Italia faces stage 12 with 172 kilometres that concentrate the hardness in the initial part and propose a favourable and flat finish looking for the finish in Viadana (Oglio-Po).