Giro does not remember that in the first four stages it was the favorite at the start that won them as has happened so far in the 101st edition of the pink race: Tom Dumoulin, world champion of the specialty, hit the target in the Jerusalem time trial, Elia Viviani, the strongest sprinter in the race, he dominated the two sprints in Tel Aviv and Eilat. Yesterday the Dutchman Tim Wellens did not betray the bookmakers who triumphed in Caltagirone with a vertical sprint on the final ramp, at the end of a fraction, the first on Italian soil after the Israeli triptych, nervous and hilly, with rather narrow and dangerous. Wellens is at his second success at the Giro after that of Roccaraso in 2016.
This year, one of the fittest Dutchmen has already won the Freccia del Brabante and the Ruta del Sol. In Caltagirone Wellens preceded the Canadian Michael Woods and Enrico Battaglin, who was the first to attack on the final wall, giving way only in the last 50 meters. Simon Yates and Davide Formolo also arrived with the same time as the first three.
Rohan Dennis keeps the pink jersey, who did well in the final tussle in not losing the wheels of the group of Tom Dumoulin, Thibaut Pinot and Domenico Pozzovivo. With them there were two big fish of the Giro who have been a bit disappointed so far, Froome and Aru, both delayed following a crash by Zeits in one of the many bottlenecks on the course with 7km to go. The group broke up and they were no longer able to reconnect Dennis and Dumoulin's squad.
Aru lost 6”, it was worse for Froome who arrived 17” late from the pink jersey together with the Colombian Miguel Angel Lopez. Now Aru is slipped to 57" from Dennis, who for the third day always leads the standings with a 1" lead over Dumoulin and 17" over the third which is Yates, the young Englishman who looks as if he wants to make a good Tour. Froome is 20th in the general classification, 55” behind the pink jersey.
But the Briton, even if he lost ground from the lead, appeared refreshed after the race: “Every day that passes I feel better. Bad roads, I feared new falls. That's how it went. I'm waiting for Etna”. The ascent to the volcano, the first real test for the Giro favourites, which will take place tomorrow after today's stage, from Agrigento to Santa Ninfa in the Belice valley, 153 km with three Gpm and a final climb with a 12% gradient.
