Giro d'Italia: Diego Ulissi takes Pink Jersey from Primoz Roglic
The four-year wait for an Italian owner of the Pink Jersey is over. Diego Ulissi will wear the Maglia Rosa for the ninth stage after taking it from Primoz Roglic, while the new leader's team-mate and compatriot, Lorenzo Fortunato, is now in second place and continues as King of the Mountains.
Ulissi, 35, named in honour of his father's hero, Diego Maradona, won the first of his eight Giro d'Italia stages in 2011. His career-best grand tour result, 17th in the general classification of his home race, came in 2021. Ulissi was as far down as 30th after stage seven here but thrust himself into first place between Giulianova and Castelraimondo and is the first home cyclist to wear pink in the race since Alessandro de Marchi in 2021. Roglic and Mads Pedersen had shared ownership of the Pink Jersey thus far, in two stints apiece.
Luke Plapp, who is on a comeback from surgery on a lingering wrist injury this year, took a maiden grand tour stage win. The 24-year-old Australian made a solo attack with just over 40km remaining as he knew he wouldn't come out on top in a sprint and to his surprise he took the day by 38 seconds from Wilco Kelderman and Ulissi.
'The way the racing's been going this year, long moves have been really successful, so that was sort of in the back of my mind: the first one to make a move has an advantage,' Plapp said. 'I wanted a head start on the descent as well. To stay away until the finish was definitely not what I expected.
'Jeez, that was unbelievable, the fight to get into the breakaway. It just kept going and going; there was one point when I was following Wout [van Aert] so many times I almost dropped myself, then gave it one more chance. It was all worth it in the end.
'It's pretty crazy, I still can't believe it, to be honest. I feel like it's been a long time coming. Last year I got so close to the Giro so many times. And for today to happen is so, so special.'
Roglic came home in 12th, 4min 50sec behind Plapp, and the Slovenian remains only 17sec behind Ulissi in the general classification, with Juan Ayuso a further 3sec down. 'It was a hard day, and in the end we had to let the jersey go,' Roglic said. 'The guys were super strong, we did our best. Sometimes you lose the jersey, but still quite some days to go, no?'
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