Dogs & goats can't stop Pedersen regaining pink at Giro
After two days when crashes floored the Australian challenge at the Giro d'Italia, not even dogs and goats on the road could this time disrupt their top hopes on the last day of the great race's Grande Partenza in Albania.
And neither could those four-legged interlopers stop the brilliant Mads Pedersen reclaiming the leader's pink jersey on Sunday after an eventful third stage of the Italian Grand Tour.
Denmark's former world champ Pedersen won a bunch sprint for the second time in three days to reclaim the jersey he had held after the opening stage, only for race favourite Primoz Roglic to wear it for just a day following his time trial win on Saturday.
Denmark's Lidl-Trek ace Pedersen edged out New Zealander Corbin Strong by just half a wheel at the end of the hilly 160km trek around the Albanian coastal city of Vlore to put himself back in pink, now just nine seconds ahead of Roglic thanks to the 10-second winning time bonus he picked up.
After Jay Vine had crashed on Friday and Luke Plapp in the time trial on Saturday, there were no further calamities for the 14-strong Australian contingent, but Plapp looked to be still feeling the effects of his spill as he trekked home nearly six-and-a-half minutes off the pace.
But Michael Storer, the Tudor Pro team leader who's the best hope for Australian success, was in sprightly mood in the mountains, shooting off briefly for one attack, and finished among the main bunch to still lie ninth overall, 36 seconds behind as the race prepares to move to the Italian mainland after its Albanian adventure.
And it was an adventure.
On Sunday, Pedersen's charge to victory was nearly disrupted when a dog sped across the road with just a couple of kilometres remaining as the peloton began to hit top speed.
Earlier it had been a few goats who scampered across a road with riders having to swerve to avoid them. New Zealand cyclist Dion Smith almost ended in a ditch, noting with a laugh: "First time for a goat for me ... Luckily I stayed up."
Among the Australians, Chris Hamilton (Team Picnic PostNL) climbed strongly in an early breakaway and came home safely in the main bunch, as did 2022 winner Jai Hindley (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), who leaves Albania only 48 seconds down in 15th overall.
Vine, third in the time trial, again looked to be well recovered from opening day crash as he finished among the main peloton.
"Wow, to have two stage victories already and now back in the pink, that's exactly what we wanted today," Pedersen said.
"Everyone from the team did a super amazing job on the climb and before. And then it was about controlling as far as we could."
The race now makes the short transfer across the Adriatic to Puglia, where the race will resume on Tuesday after a rest day with a mostly flat 189km route from Alberobello to Lecce and a probable sprint finish, where Aussie Kaden Groves will be hoping to feature.
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The Advertiser
2 hours ago
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Incredibly, Johnson and Niemann were among some 60 players to finish at 10 over or worse, with American George Duangmanee racking up a +35 total with horror rounds of 86 and 89. With agencies True to his word, Adam Scott has hung tough to storm right into contention as a raft of golfing heavyweights floundered during the US Open second round at the beastly Oakmont Country Club. While defending champion Bryson DeChambeau led the exodus of big names to miss the halfway cut, Scott carved out a second straight even-par round of 70 to be tied fourth in the clubhouse. Contesting his 96th consecutive major, 44-year-old Scott showed the younger stars how to play major championship golf, repeatedly rebounding from bogeys with birdies to sit just three shots off the pace at the halfway mark of the tournament. Sam Burns fired the low round of the championship, a brilliant five-under 65 to snare the clubhouse lead at three under. Fellow American and first-round leader JJ Spaun is second, one stroke behind Burns, after following up his starting 66 with a 72 on Friday (Saturday AEST). Seeking his maiden major, Norwegian super talent Viktor Hovland is the only other player above Scott on the leaderboard and one of only three players in red numbers at one under after posting a second-round 70. Scott's fellow former world No.1 Jason Day battled back into the picture with the second-lowest round of the day to also raise hopes of a famous Australian triumph at the US Open's most gruelling venue. Former PGA champ Day was way off the pace after his opening round of 76 but demonstrated his enduring class with a three-under 67 to get back to three over for the tournament, just six shots back entering the weekend in a tie for 13th. Day's round, which began at the 10th hole, was ignited by a terrific eagle at his third hole - the gigantic par-five 12th that measures 647 yards. He struck his approach from 323 yards to 20 feet from the hole and sank the eagle putt. Two birdies quickly followed in the next five holes. His biggest disappointment as he looked set to finish with a 66 after two more birdies on the homeward nine was his wayward drive at the ninth that led to an anti-climactic final bogey. Burns, who shot a final-round 62 on Sunday at the Canadian Open before losing in a play-off, also started his second round on the back nine and birdied 11, 13, 17 and 18. He responded to his lone bogey at the first hole by putting his approach at the next hole to about six feet. American world No.1 Scottie Scheffler had five bogeys and four birdies in his 71 to be left at four over, alongside countryman Collin Morikawa (71) and fellow dual major winner Jon Rahm, who exploded after shooting a 75. The second-round spoiler left the superstar Spaniard seven shots adrift of Burns. "Honestly, I'm too annoyed and too mad right now to think about any perspective," Rahm said. "Very few rounds of golf I played in my life where I think I hit good putts and they didn't sniff the hole, so it's frustrating." Masters champion Rory McIlroy birdied the last hole in a round of 72 to be six under and just inside the cut line. Australian Marc Leishman, who had begun promisingly with a 71, suffered in his second round with a 75 that included a double-bogey six at the ninth hole to also hover at six over. Five-time major winner Brooks Koepka, one of 14 LIV Golf players in the field, started his day two shots off the pace but dropped back after a 74 that featured eight bogeys. After out-duelling McIlroy down the stretch to reign last year at Pinehurst, DeChambeau won't feature on the weekend after slumping to 10 over with a second-round 77. At nine over following rounds of 77 and 72, Australian Min Woo Lee was also sent packing, along with dual major winner Justin Thomas, 2016 Oakmont champion Dustin Johnson, fellow former world No.1 Justin Rose, LIV Golf dominator Joaquin Niemann and Swedish sensation Ludvig Aberg. Incredibly, Johnson and Niemann were among some 60 players to finish at 10 over or worse, with American George Duangmanee racking up a +35 total with horror rounds of 86 and 89. With agencies True to his word, Adam Scott has hung tough to storm right into contention as a raft of golfing heavyweights floundered during the US Open second round at the beastly Oakmont Country Club. While defending champion Bryson DeChambeau led the exodus of big names to miss the halfway cut, Scott carved out a second straight even-par round of 70 to be tied fourth in the clubhouse. Contesting his 96th consecutive major, 44-year-old Scott showed the younger stars how to play major championship golf, repeatedly rebounding from bogeys with birdies to sit just three shots off the pace at the halfway mark of the tournament. Sam Burns fired the low round of the championship, a brilliant five-under 65 to snare the clubhouse lead at three under. Fellow American and first-round leader JJ Spaun is second, one stroke behind Burns, after following up his starting 66 with a 72 on Friday (Saturday AEST). Seeking his maiden major, Norwegian super talent Viktor Hovland is the only other player above Scott on the leaderboard and one of only three players in red numbers at one under after posting a second-round 70. Scott's fellow former world No.1 Jason Day battled back into the picture with the second-lowest round of the day to also raise hopes of a famous Australian triumph at the US Open's most gruelling venue. Former PGA champ Day was way off the pace after his opening round of 76 but demonstrated his enduring class with a three-under 67 to get back to three over for the tournament, just six shots back entering the weekend in a tie for 13th. Day's round, which began at the 10th hole, was ignited by a terrific eagle at his third hole - the gigantic par-five 12th that measures 647 yards. He struck his approach from 323 yards to 20 feet from the hole and sank the eagle putt. Two birdies quickly followed in the next five holes. His biggest disappointment as he looked set to finish with a 66 after two more birdies on the homeward nine was his wayward drive at the ninth that led to an anti-climactic final bogey. Burns, who shot a final-round 62 on Sunday at the Canadian Open before losing in a play-off, also started his second round on the back nine and birdied 11, 13, 17 and 18. He responded to his lone bogey at the first hole by putting his approach at the next hole to about six feet. American world No.1 Scottie Scheffler had five bogeys and four birdies in his 71 to be left at four over, alongside countryman Collin Morikawa (71) and fellow dual major winner Jon Rahm, who exploded after shooting a 75. The second-round spoiler left the superstar Spaniard seven shots adrift of Burns. "Honestly, I'm too annoyed and too mad right now to think about any perspective," Rahm said. "Very few rounds of golf I played in my life where I think I hit good putts and they didn't sniff the hole, so it's frustrating." Masters champion Rory McIlroy birdied the last hole in a round of 72 to be six under and just inside the cut line. Australian Marc Leishman, who had begun promisingly with a 71, suffered in his second round with a 75 that included a double-bogey six at the ninth hole to also hover at six over. Five-time major winner Brooks Koepka, one of 14 LIV Golf players in the field, started his day two shots off the pace but dropped back after a 74 that featured eight bogeys. After out-duelling McIlroy down the stretch to reign last year at Pinehurst, DeChambeau won't feature on the weekend after slumping to 10 over with a second-round 77. At nine over following rounds of 77 and 72, Australian Min Woo Lee was also sent packing, along with dual major winner Justin Thomas, 2016 Oakmont champion Dustin Johnson, fellow former world No.1 Justin Rose, LIV Golf dominator Joaquin Niemann and Swedish sensation Ludvig Aberg. Incredibly, Johnson and Niemann were among some 60 players to finish at 10 over or worse, with American George Duangmanee racking up a +35 total with horror rounds of 86 and 89. With agencies True to his word, Adam Scott has hung tough to storm right into contention as a raft of golfing heavyweights floundered during the US Open second round at the beastly Oakmont Country Club. While defending champion Bryson DeChambeau led the exodus of big names to miss the halfway cut, Scott carved out a second straight even-par round of 70 to be tied fourth in the clubhouse. Contesting his 96th consecutive major, 44-year-old Scott showed the younger stars how to play major championship golf, repeatedly rebounding from bogeys with birdies to sit just three shots off the pace at the halfway mark of the tournament. Sam Burns fired the low round of the championship, a brilliant five-under 65 to snare the clubhouse lead at three under. Fellow American and first-round leader JJ Spaun is second, one stroke behind Burns, after following up his starting 66 with a 72 on Friday (Saturday AEST). Seeking his maiden major, Norwegian super talent Viktor Hovland is the only other player above Scott on the leaderboard and one of only three players in red numbers at one under after posting a second-round 70. Scott's fellow former world No.1 Jason Day battled back into the picture with the second-lowest round of the day to also raise hopes of a famous Australian triumph at the US Open's most gruelling venue. Former PGA champ Day was way off the pace after his opening round of 76 but demonstrated his enduring class with a three-under 67 to get back to three over for the tournament, just six shots back entering the weekend in a tie for 13th. Day's round, which began at the 10th hole, was ignited by a terrific eagle at his third hole - the gigantic par-five 12th that measures 647 yards. He struck his approach from 323 yards to 20 feet from the hole and sank the eagle putt. Two birdies quickly followed in the next five holes. His biggest disappointment as he looked set to finish with a 66 after two more birdies on the homeward nine was his wayward drive at the ninth that led to an anti-climactic final bogey. Burns, who shot a final-round 62 on Sunday at the Canadian Open before losing in a play-off, also started his second round on the back nine and birdied 11, 13, 17 and 18. He responded to his lone bogey at the first hole by putting his approach at the next hole to about six feet. American world No.1 Scottie Scheffler had five bogeys and four birdies in his 71 to be left at four over, alongside countryman Collin Morikawa (71) and fellow dual major winner Jon Rahm, who exploded after shooting a 75. The second-round spoiler left the superstar Spaniard seven shots adrift of Burns. "Honestly, I'm too annoyed and too mad right now to think about any perspective," Rahm said. "Very few rounds of golf I played in my life where I think I hit good putts and they didn't sniff the hole, so it's frustrating." Masters champion Rory McIlroy birdied the last hole in a round of 72 to be six under and just inside the cut line. Australian Marc Leishman, who had begun promisingly with a 71, suffered in his second round with a 75 that included a double-bogey six at the ninth hole to also hover at six over. Five-time major winner Brooks Koepka, one of 14 LIV Golf players in the field, started his day two shots off the pace but dropped back after a 74 that featured eight bogeys. After out-duelling McIlroy down the stretch to reign last year at Pinehurst, DeChambeau won't feature on the weekend after slumping to 10 over with a second-round 77. At nine over following rounds of 77 and 72, Australian Min Woo Lee was also sent packing, along with dual major winner Justin Thomas, 2016 Oakmont champion Dustin Johnson, fellow former world No.1 Justin Rose, LIV Golf dominator Joaquin Niemann and Swedish sensation Ludvig Aberg. Incredibly, Johnson and Niemann were among some 60 players to finish at 10 over or worse, with American George Duangmanee racking up a +35 total with horror rounds of 86 and 89. With agencies
