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.
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.
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.
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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
26 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Paris Olympian DQ'd at trials
Joshua Yong is disqualified after the men's 200m breaststroke final at the 2025 Australian swimming trials.
The Age
35 minutes ago
- The Age
Paris Olympian DQ'd at trials
Joshua Yong is disqualified after the men's 200m breaststroke final at the 2025 Australian swimming trials.
Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘You can't have 10 inside midfielders': Dons to blood rookie pair while Tsatas, Hobbs wait their turn
The versatile Jones and in particular strong-marking Reid were enjoying good seasons before their setbacks, while Nate Caddy – who is carrying a big load in attack with Langford sidelined, and when Peter Wright goes into the ruck – Archie Roberts and Isaac Kako have also impressed McPherson. However, it has been more challenging for midfielders Ben Hobbs and Elijah Tsatas. Essendon dropped Hobbs, the No.13 pick in 2021, on Thursday night, while Tsatas, the fifth selection in 2022, has played just one of the Bombers' past five games. Hobbs' centre-bounce opportunities had dwindled before his axing, and he was playing almost exclusively as a forward, even before All-Australian onballer Darcy Parish's return on Sunday night. Tsatas continues to rack up disposals for Essendon's reserves, but his kicking efficiency – the biggest knock on him – is barely above 46 per cent, and he is handballing far more. Neither player making this week's team despite Durham's absence, veteran Dylan Shiel remaining in the VFL since being dropped a month ago, and captain Zach Merrett being used at half-back is an indication of their place in the midfield pecking order. 'The unique nature of our injury list is they are essentially all talls and key-position guys, so the players that Elijah and 'Hobbsy' are battling for spots are fit and healthy,' McPherson said. 'Our core group of inside midfielders are experienced, high-quality players. You look at Parish, Caldwell and Merrett – and Setterfield's done some terrific jobs the last few weeks. 'We brought in two guys this week, but they're tall because we need some height and reinforcement in that area, so that takes away a couple of spots outside the centre bounce … you can't have 10 inside midfielders.' McPherson said it would be 'great for them and us' if Hobbs and Tsatas re-established themselves in the AFL by season's end, but that team balance was the priority. The Bombers are keen to have more A-grade talent around Merrett, but McPherson was confident a number of their players were 'trending' towards reaching that status. Essendon are scouring rival clubs' lists to help that pursuit, meaning they could be active in free agency and the trade period, while they are armed with their own and Melbourne's first-round pick in this year's draft. 'Our list and recruiting guys are on the lookout, and getting to work on who's available, who's a possibility, and whether they fit with us,' McPherson said. 'But at the same time, we think there's potential for a few of our guys to continue to improve and elevate to that level.' Loading McPherson said having multiple first-round selections meant the Bombers would have 'flexibility' in the player movement period as they explore the potential of trying to lure a top-liner to Tullamarine. They also must decide how hard they will work to retain unrestricted free agent ruckman Draper, who has interest from Adelaide. 'We're not closed off to anything. You never say never,' McPherson said. 'You go into these sorts of deals and discussions with your best interests at the forefront, so it has to be something that we're really comfortable benefits us.'
