Daan Hoole snatches Giro stage win, Isaac del Toro stays in overall lead
The Lidl-Trek rider capitalised on better early conditions to set an unbeatable time over the 28.6km course from Lucca to Pisa, finishing in 32.30 minutes in front of the leaning tower.
Hoole's time eclipsed the early leader, Britain's Ethan Hayter, by 10 seconds, but the Quickstep rider held on for a podium place behind compatriot Josh Tarling of INEOS Grenadiers.
As the conditions worsened, none of the contenders for the general classification could make an impression, allowing Isaac del Toro to cling on to the maglia rosa despite finishing in 37th place.
The biggest beneficiary was Primoz Roglic, battling to recover from a crash two days ago and secure his second Giro title after his win in 2023.
Roglic (Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe) fell again on the stage's recon ride but recovered to make up more than a minute on his main challengers and move up to fifth place in the standings.
Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) came in 22nd place, making up a minute on leader Del Toro and staying in second place overall.
Ireland's Sam Bennett (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) crossed the line in 92nd and is 147th overall.
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Irish Examiner
21 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Ger Nash clarifies comments about Dijksteel and imported players at Cork City
As tensions reach boiling point at Cork City, manager Ger Nash has moved to clarify comments he made last weekend about Malik Dijksteel's availability and his selection being dominated by Irish players. Dijksteel's two-year spell at City effectively ended last Friday when he wasn't part of the squad which threw away a two-goal lead at home to nearest rivals Sligo Rovers, widening the gap at the bottom to 11 points with 11 games left. A pre-contract move to St Mirren in November was announced by Cork City in advance of the game. Nash contended afterwards that the 24-year-old was ruled out on foot of a directive from his agent but confusion arose over the weekend. Nash has since met with the Dutchman on Monday and logically the transfer has been accelerated. Dijksteel has been in Scotland this week finalising his medical and he joins Milan Mbeng and Djenairo Daniels in departing. This summer window was flagged by the new manager as pivotal to their survival hopes but he's not delivered a victory in any the 11 league matches at the helm, a winless run totalling 14 matches encompassing the end of Tim Clancy's reign. Nash has now admitted that Dijksteel didn't go on strike for the Sligo game. 'The information I gave was on the back of a conversation with his agent,' he said ahead of Friday's visit of Galway United to Turner's Cross, which may see fans launching a demonstration against the club ownership led by Dermot Usher. 'Malik had a lot going on in his mind and personally. When you're dealing with those sorts of transfers, it's not easy. Whether he was in the right frame of mind was questionable. 'He made it clear that it was an issue for Malik dealing with what he was dealing with. So, from that conversation, it was clear that we had to move on without him for that game.' That explanation indicates the stance of omitting Dijksteel was ultimately down to Cork City. 'Yeah, we made the decision as a club the day before. We obviously planned and picked that team in advance. 'We had to select a team that we were sure could give us what we needed in the game. And we couldn't be in doubt in certain situations.' That wasn't the only topic which the manager, operating in his first standalone managerial job, had to elaborate on. Bemusement accompanied him making a point of stressing the inclusion of 10 Irishman in his starting team. He noted the exception, loanee Kitt Nelson, as a player who chose to stay rather than return to Preston North End. Origin can be a sensitive subject, especially when the history of Cork's League of Ireland team is laced with players hailing from outside the county and country. Nash attempted to provide context by stressing he was referring to longevity and commitment of players, rather than some whose stay has been brief, without commercial value accruing to the club. 'I've probably talked a little bit about players from Cork and Irish players and maybe they've not been the best quotes in some respects,' he began. 'Because it's just about people. It doesn't really matter where you're from as long as you're committed. 'You can be from anywhere in the world, but it's about commitment to Cork City - wanting to play for the club and wanting to be successful. 'It's just the challenges the club has had with a number of players who can play 10, 12, 15 games and then leave. 'It would be a good model if we were getting a million pounds for each player, that's probably a really good model but the reality is we're not getting those returns. 'What I've got now, looking forward, is a squad which is absolutely desperate to play for Cork City and help us get out of the situation that we're in. 'Bringing in players from window to window, there's no real sale value and isn't necessarily the best way for us to do this. 'I think I look at somebody like Matty Kiernan. He's an 18-year-old who played a lot of football this season in the Premier Division. 'He's someone who loves the club and cares.'
Irish Daily Mirror
21 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Cork City fallout as Malik Dijksteel completes fast-tracked move to St Mirren
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The Irish Sun
21 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Cork City boss Nash ‘pleased window is closed' and happy to keep players who will ‘fight for the club'
GER Nash has spoken of how difficult the transfer window has been for Cork City as Malik Dijksteel completed his move to St Mirren. The 2 Nash has had to deal with a huge player turnover this transfer window 2 Milan Mbeng and Rio Shipston are two of the stars Cork City will be without He clarified that the Dutchman's representative had outlined that he was not in the right frame of mind with Nash then deciding not to pick him for a game in which they And he also voiced his frustration about Milan Mbeng's availability in the lead-up to his move to Shelbourne, completed last week. Nash said: 'My overriding emotion is that I'm pleased the window is closed and we can move forward with the squad that we have in terms of people who I know are fighting desperately to keep us in this league and represent the club and fight for the club.' It was announced nine days ago that Dijksteel would move to Scotland at the end of the League of Ireland season but he has now completed the switch. Read more on League of Ireland And Nash admitted that it is difficult for players to see out a season in the League of Ireland when they have already negotiated a transfer abroad. He said: 'In my time working with Malik, he was a really good professional. He's in the gym first thing most mornings, he was first in. 'I think St Mirren have got a really good player and I hope the move works out really well for him.' While he clarified Dijksteel had not refused to play, he insisted he had been left with no choice but not to pick him in the crunch game against their closest rivals. Most read in Football He said: 'We wanted to pick him. A conversation happened with his agent. 'It was a conversation with his agent where it was clear to us that Malik wasn't in the right frame of mind for such an important game. Amorim refuses to guarantee Hojlund Man Utd future amid Sesko transfer push 'We made the decision as a club the day before. We obviously planned and picked our team in advance.' On Frenchman Mbeng, who only joined the club at the start of the season, he said: 'Milan played against Celtic a couple of weeks ago. 'Since that moment, Milan has not been available to play for the club. In terms of being consistently available for training, he's missed a lot of time in the build-up to the Waterford game. 'He's been back in a little bit of training after that. But most of the time he's been injured there. He's been managing something. "So he hasn't been available. He's now at Shelbourne, that situation might be different.' On top of that duo, Nash has lost four players who started his first game in charge against this weekend's opponents Galway United just 10 weeks ago. Tein Troost and Rio Shipston have returned to their clubs after loan spells, Djeinaro Daniels joined Kilmarnock with Nash said: 'It's difficult when there is so much doubt over players. The challenges have been that we've had a number of players who can play 10, 12, 15 games and leave the club. 'As a model, if we're getting a million pounds for each player, that's probably a really good model. But the reality is we're not getting those returns.'
