Van Uden takes shock sprint win in fourth stage of Giro d'Italia
Casper van Uden of Team Picnic-PostNL sprang a surprise on stage four of the Giro d'Italia on Tuesday to claim the first Grand Tour victory of his career.
The 23-year-old Dutchman dug deep to hold off compatriots Olav Kooij (Visma Lease a Bike) and Maikel Zijlaard (Tudor Pro Cycling) in a tense sprint finish, with the stage also marking the first-ever all-Dutch podium at the Giro.
"I didn't do it alone – we did it with the whole team. All the boys here and all the staff here and in HQ as well. They did super work," said Van Uden, whose last win came at the ZLM Tour in June last year.
"I didn't have to do anything until 200m to go. I have a good sprint and went for it. We've done a really good job all season with the leadouts.
"I knew I had to just follow Bram (Welten) and the boys – they did a super good job and I'm really happy to give them something back. I'm not surprised and I know all the boys have a lot of belief in me."
Van Uden's victory also provides a massive boost to Picnic-PostNL's hopes of remaining in the WorldTour, with the Dutch team facing the prospect of relegation.
The stage, a flat 189-km ride from Alberobello to Lecce and the first stage this year to be held in Italy, began with a gutsy attack by Francisco Munoz of Polti VisitMalta.
Munoz sped away from the peloton in the first few kilometres and persevered on his own for over 130km, but the Spaniard was reeled in with 56km to go and a bunch sprint became all but inevitable.
Lidl-Trek's Mads Pedersen, who reclaimed the pink jersey with a sprint win in stage three on Sunday, had a challenging finish as he was slowed down by a crash which also took out teammate Kragh Andersen - one of his leadout riders.
However, the Dane steadily worked his way to the front with the help of his team and was able to clinch a fourth-placed finish to comfortably retain the leader's jersey.
"It was a hectic final, especially when the rest of the day was quite easy, but the final was really something special," Pedersen said.
"Wide roads and narrow roads and so on. So a stressful day in the end, but all in all it was okay, we made it. And damage control on the points, so that's good."
Second-placed Primoz Roglic (Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe) did manage to shrink the gap to seven seconds after earning a two-second bonus, while Pedersen's teammate Mathias Vacek is a further seven seconds behind in third.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
22 minutes ago
- CNA
Norway dare to dream big again after a quarter century of heartbreak
After a quarter of a century of near misses and heartbreak, Norway's rout of Italy in their World Cup qualifier has reignited the country's hope of a return to international football's biggest stage. There was little doubt that Norway were the better team on Friday as they easily dominated Italy in Oslo, pushing on until the scoreboard read 3-0 and taking a big step towards next year's World Cup. For supporters of the Norwegian team, the result has sparked a glimmer of hope in hearts that have been broken many times over the past decades. Norway have not participated in an international football tournament since the European Championship in 2000, which was hosted in Belgium and the Netherlands. There have been many close calls since then, with the margins consistently going against the squad, but now there is a shift in attitude after Norway dominated against the four-times world champions. "I am 100 per cent sure", former Norway, Denmark and Iceland coach Age Hareide told newspaper VG when asked if Norway would go to the World Cup. SOLID STATISTICS Norway are in pole position in Group I with nine points out of nine and a goal surplus of 10. Israel, Estonia and Moldova are the other nations in the group. The Football Meets Data statistics platform gives Norway a 77 per cent chance of winning the group and qualifying directly for the tournament hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Key striker Erling Haaland, who put himself on the scoresheet against Italy, agreed with the statistics. "We are too good not to play in championships. I will play both the World Cup and the European Championship. Not to put pressure on myself but I will," he told Norwegian broadcaster NRK. While World Cup fever in Norway is reaching a point not seen since 1998, when Norway last participated, manager Stale Solbakken, wise from experience, is lowering expectations. "It is a coach's misfortune that I have to concentrate on the next match, so you can enjoy yourselves and ask those questions. I would have liked to say that it was 100 per cent certain but I can't," he told reporters after Friday's game.
Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Straits Times
Donnarumma says Italy's form unacceptable after drubbing by Norway
Soccer Football - World Cup - European Qualifiers - Group I - Norway v Italy - Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway - June 6, 2025 Norway's Sander Berge hits the post as Italy's Gianluigi Donnarumma looks on Lise Aserud/NTB via REUTERS Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma offered no excuses for his side's poor showing in their 3-0 defeat at Norway in the World Cup qualifiers on Friday, saying their form was not acceptable and the fans deserve better. Playing the first match of their qualifying campaign, Italy were stunned after a ruthless first-half performance by Norway, who put three past the visitors thanks to Alexander Sorloth, Antonio Nusa and Erling Haaland. Italy sit fourth in Group I, while Norway lead the group with nine points from three matches. Estonia, Moldova and Israel are also in Group I. "I have no explanation at the moment. You just have to go inside and realise the performance tonight. Our fans don't deserve this," Donnarumma told Italian TV channel Rai Sport. "We all have to come out of these games together, we need to examine our conscience." The four-times World Cup winners have not qualified for the global showpiece event since 2014. Italy manager Luciano Spalletti said his team were going through a difficult patch and that he would speak with the Italian Football Federation about the situation. "From us, it has to come from us first of all. We are Italy and these matches are not acceptable... We must be more united than before," said Donnarumma, who won the Champions League, Ligue 1, French Cup and French Super Cup titles with Paris St Germain in the recently concluded season. Italy next host fifth-placed Moldova on Monday. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
CNA
6 hours ago
- CNA
Donnarumma says Italy's form unacceptable after drubbing by Norway
Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma offered no excuses for his side's poor showing in their 3-0 defeat at Norway in the World Cup qualifiers on Friday, saying their form was not acceptable and the fans deserve better. Playing the first match of their qualifying campaign, Italy were stunned after a ruthless first-half performance by Norway, who put three past the visitors thanks to Alexander Sorloth, Antonio Nusa and Erling Haaland. Italy sit fourth in Group I, while Norway lead the group with nine points from three matches. Estonia, Moldova and Israel are also in Group I. "I have no explanation at the moment. You just have to go inside and realise the performance tonight. Our fans don't deserve this," Donnarumma told Italian TV channel Rai Sport. "We all have to come out of these games together, we need to examine our conscience." The four-times World Cup winners have not qualified for the global showpiece event since 2014. Italy manager Luciano Spalletti said his team were going through a difficult patch and that he would speak with the Italian Football Federation about the situation. "From us, it has to come from us first of all. We are Italy and these matches are not acceptable... We must be more united than before," said Donnarumma, who won the Champions League, Ligue 1, French Cup and French Super Cup titles with Paris St Germain in the recently concluded season. Italy next host fifth-placed Moldova on Monday.
