Latest news with #Q36.5
Japan Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- Japan Today
Denz breaks away to win for Roglic as Del Toro protects Giro lead
cycling Nico Denz escaped from the remnants of a huge breakaway to win stage 18 of the Giro on Thursday as the surviving overall contenders took it easy ahead of two mountain-top battles. Even so, the race continued to take a toll on the big names. Juan Ayuso started the stage but retired two days after Primoz Roglic, the other big pre-race favorite, pulled out. Denz, a 31-year-old German, surged away from the other 10 remaining members of the lead group to give Roglic's Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe team their first win of a disastrous Giro. "Everyone on the team had the big goal to win the Giro with Primoz," Denz said. "We spent two months in altitude for that. I'm now three months gone from home - I did not see my wife or children. If you lose a leader like Primoz, you lose a dream. We've thought all this hard work was for nothing. Luckily things turned around." Italian Mirco Maestri sprinted to second 1 minute, 1 second later, edging Belgian Edward Planckaert. Overall leader Isaac Del Toro rolled home alongside his main rivals 13 minutes, 51 seconds back. The Mexican has two former grand tour winners in close pursuit. He is a mere 41 seconds ahead of Richard Carapaz and 51sec ahead of Simon Yates. Asked what he was on his mind on the eve of the final battle, the 21-year-old Del Toro replied that he would go to bed thinking of having Nutella for breakfast. "I'm starting to get used to the pink jersey," Del Toro said. "For the next two stages, I hope to be at the front with the best legs I've ever had. We'll see what happens, but I want to be at the front." Thursday's transitional stage from Morbegno to Cesano Maderno was designed to give sprinters a chance and the main contenders a rest, ahead of two days of high-altitude battles. Instead, a breakaway group of almost 40 riders, none well placed overall, coalesced up the road. With almost every team represented, the pack let the break go and spent the gently 144km run rolling easily along. The stage ended with two 12.5km laps and the peloton was so slow that there was a danger it would start its first circuit just as the leaders were beginning their last loop. Organisers solved the problem by asking the previously dormant Q36.5 team, which had no riders in the breakaway, to up the pace at the head of the pack. Ayuso, the designated leader of the UAE team, started the day more than 49 minutes behind team-mate Del Toro, his right swollen eye closed by a sting. "It's been a couple of hard days," he said at the start. "Yesterday a bee went inside my helmet and I can't see out of my right eye." Ayuso had also been nursing a knee injury since a crash on stage nine that required three stitches. Saturday's 166km run from Del Biella to Champoluc includes three first-category climbs. It is first of two two ferocious mountain days before the survivors can roll into Rome in triumph on a flat final day. Before they start racing on the final Sunday, the riders will visit the Vatican where newly-elected Pope Leo XIV will greet the peloton. © 2025 AFP
The 42
3 days ago
- Sport
- The 42
Denz breaks away to win for Roglic as Del Toro protects Giro lead
NICO DENZ escaped from the remnants of a huge breakaway to win stage 18 of the Giro on Thursday as the surviving overall contenders took it easy ahead of two mountain-top battles. Even so, the race continued to take a toll on the big names. Juan Ayuso started the stage but retired two days after Primoz Roglic, the other big pre-race favourite, pulled out. Denz, a 31-year-old German, surged away from the other 10 remaining members of the lead group to give Roglic's Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe team their first win of a disastrous Giro. 'Everyone on the team had the big goal to win the Giro with Primoz,' Denz said. 'You lose a leader like Roglic, you lose a dream. But we turned it round.' Italian Mirco Maestri sprinted to second 1min 1sec later, edging Belgian Edward Planckaert. Advertisement Overall leader Isaac Del Toro rolled home alongside his main rivals 13min 51sec back. The Mexican has two former grand tour winners in close pursuit. He is a mere 41 seconds ahead of Richard Carapaz and 51sec ahead of Simon Yates. Asked what was on his mind on the eve of the final battle, the 21-year-old Del Toro replied that he would go to bed thinking of having Nutella for breakfast. The transitional stage from Morbegno to Cesano Maderno was designed to give sprinters a chance and the main contenders a rest, ahead of two days of high-altitude battles. Instead, a breakaway group of almost 40 riders, none well placed overall, coalesced up the road. With almost every team represented, the pack let the break go and spent the gently 144km run rolling easily along. The stage ended with two 12.5km laps, and the peloton was so slow that there was a danger it would start its first circuit just as the leaders were beginning their last loop. Organisers solved the problem by asking the previously dormant Q36.5 team, which had no riders in the breakaway, to up the pace at the head of the pack. Ayuso, the designated leader of the UAE team, started the day more than 49 minutes behind teammate Del Toro, his right eye completely closed after he was stung by a hornet the day before. Ayuso had also been nursing a knee injury since a crash on stage nine that required three stitches. Meanwhile, Irish pair Darren Raffery and Sam Bennett finished in 82nd and 143rd place, leaving them 86th and 147th overall. Bennett is now 45th in the points classification. Saturday's 166km run from Del Biella to Champoluc includes three first-category climbs. It is the first of two ferocious mountain days before the survivors can roll into Rome in triumph on a flat final day when the route passes the Vatican, where the new pope is expected to watch. You can view the standings in full here. – © AFP 2025
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Denz breaks away to win for Roglic as Del Toro protects Giro lead
Nico Denz escaped from the remnants of a huge breakaway to win stage 18 of the Giro on Thursday as the surviving overall contenders took it easy ahead of two mountain-top battles. Even so, the race continued to take a toll on the big names. Juan Ayuso started the stage but retired two days after Primoz Roglic, the other big pre-race favourite, pulled out. Denz, a 31-year-old German, surged away from the other 10 remaining members of the lead group to give Roglic's Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe team their first win of a disastrous Giro. "Everyone on the team had the big goal to win the Giro with Primoz," Denz said. "You lose a leader like Roglic, you lose a dream. But we turned it round." Italian Mirco Maestri sprinted to second 1min 1sec later, edging Belgian Edward Planckaert. Overall leader Isaac Del Toro rolled home alongside his main rivals 13min 51sec back. The Mexican has two former grand tour winners in close pursuit. He is a mere 41 seconds ahead of Richard Carapaz and 51sec ahead of Simon Yates. Asked what he was on his mind on the eve of the final battle, the 21-year-old Del Toro replied that he would go to bed thinking of having Nutella for breakfast. The transitional stage from Morbegno to Cesano Maderno was designed to give sprinters a chance and the main contenders a rest, ahead of two days of high-altitude battles. Instead, a breakaway group of almost 40 riders, none well placed overall, coalesced up the road. With almost every team represented, the pack let the break go and spent the gently 144km run rolling easily along. The stage ended with two 12.5km laps and the peloton was so slow that there was a danger it would start its first circuit just as the leaders were beginning their last loop. Organisers solved the problem by asking the previously dormant Q36.5 team, which had no riders in the breakaway, to up the pace at the head of the pack. Ayuso, the designated leader of the UAE team, started the day more than 49 minutes behind team-mate Del Toro, his right eye completely closed after he was stung by a hornet the day before. Ayuso had also been nursing a knee injury since a crash on stage nine that required three stitches. Saturday's 166km run from Del Biella to Champoluc includes three first-category climbs. It is first of two two ferocious mountain days before the survivors can roll into Rome in triumph on a flat final day when the route passes the Vatican where the new pope is expected to watch. pb-jk/lp
France 24
3 days ago
- Sport
- France 24
Denz breaks away to win for Roglic as Del Toro protects Giro lead
Even so, the race continued to take a toll on the big names. Juan Ayuso started the stage but retired two days after Primoz Roglic, the other big pre-race favourite, pulled out. Denz, a 31-year-old German, surged away from the other 10 remaining members of the lead group to give Roglic's Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe team their first win of a disastrous Giro. "Everyone on the team had the big goal to win the Giro with Primoz," Denz said. "You lose a leader like Roglic, you lose a dream. But we turned it round." Italian Mirco Maestri sprinted to second 1min 1sec later, edging Belgian Edward Planckaert. Overall leader Isaac Del Toro rolled home alongside his main rivals 13min 51sec back. The Mexican has two former grand tour winners in close pursuit. He is a mere 41 seconds ahead of Richard Carapaz and 51sec ahead of Simon Yates. Asked what he was on his mind on the eve of the final battle, the 21-year-old Del Toro replied that he would go to bed thinking of having Nutella for breakfast. The transitional stage from Morbegno to Cesano Maderno was designed to give sprinters a chance and the main contenders a rest, ahead of two days of high-altitude battles. Instead, a breakaway group of almost 40 riders, none well placed overall, coalesced up the road. With almost every team represented, the pack let the break go and spent the gently 144km run rolling easily along. The stage ended with two 12.5km laps and the peloton was so slow that there was a danger it would start its first circuit just as the leaders were beginning their last loop. Organisers solved the problem by asking the previously dormant Q36.5 team, which had no riders in the breakaway, to up the pace at the head of the pack. Ayuso, the designated leader of the UAE team, started the day more than 49 minutes behind team-mate Del Toro, his right eye completely closed after he was stung by a hornet the day before. Ayuso had also been nursing a knee injury since a crash on stage nine that required three stitches. Saturday's 166km run from Del Biella to Champoluc includes three first-category climbs. It is first of two two ferocious mountain days before the survivors can roll into Rome in triumph on a flat final day when the route passes the Vatican where the new pope is expected to watch.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Pedersen wins Giro opener as Landa fractures back
Denmark's Mads Pedersen outsprinted Wout van Aert to win the first stage of the Giro d'Italia in Albania. Britain's Tom Pidcock finished fifth for his new Q36.5 team, in a race in which the 25-year-old hopes to contend for the coveted overall pink jersey and also win stages. But another contender for pink, Mikel Landa of Spain, abandoned the race after fracturing his back in a heavy crash. The Soudal-Quick step rider appear to collide with a lampost with 5km to go on the approach to the centre of Albania's capital city Tirana. His team said scans in hospital revealed Landa suffered a "stable fracture of the Th 11 vertebra," which will require him to "remain in a stable lying position for an extended period of time". Landa will remain in hospital overnight before further assessment. Lidl-Trek's Pedersen will wear pink in Saturday's second-stage time trial after benefiting from the pace set by his team-mates on the front of the peloton over the final Surrel climb, which saw the pure sprinters in the race dropped from the leading bunch. "It's absolutely amazing, especially after the team work like this, it's really incredible that the team works that hard and I can pay them back with a win," he said. Pedersen is a highly decorated rider, having won the 2019 Road World Championship, one-day classics and now his seventh Grand Tour stage. The 29-year-old beat Visma-Lease A Bike's Van Aert to the line by a wheel - the Belgian is expected to be Pedersen's main rival for the ciclamino-coloured points jersey. An exhausted Van Aert said afterwards: "You only get one or two chances to take pink, but on that last climb I struggled to stay in." The Giro d'Italia's race for pink is anyone's guess It was a typically dramatic first stage for the Giro, on unknown roads in Albania, which is hosting the start of a Grand Tour for the first time. During the final two climbs many riders lost touch with the peloton, including sprinters Kaden Groves and Olav Kooij, because the pace was so high, even though the climbs themselves were not considered to be overly difficult. But the real surprises came in the battle for the general classification. Canada's Derek Gee was dropped from the peloton for Israel-Premier Tech, losing almost a minute, and Ineos Grenadiers' Thymen Arensman lost over a minute and a half. Then, the often luckless Spaniard Landa was left writhing in pain on the pavement, his bike lying at the bottom of a lamppost. The crash saw other riders come to grief as they took evasive action in the ensuing melee, including France's Geoffrey Bouchard of Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale. Saturday's time trial sees riders take a 13.7km test against the clock around the streets of Tirana, with Pedersen expected to relinquish the pink jersey to a specialist in the discipline. Giro d'Italia stage one results: 1. Mads Pedersen (Den/Lidl-Trek) 3hrs 36 mins 24secs 2. Wout van Aert (Bel/Visma-Lease A Bike) Same time 3. Orluis Aular (Spa/Movistar) 4. Francesco Busatto (Ita/Intermarche Wanty) 5. Tom Pidcock (GBR/Q36.5) 6. Diego Ulussi (Ita/XDS-Astana) 7. Richard Carapaz (Ecu/EF Education-EasyPost) 8. Max Poole (GBR/Picnic-PostNL) 9. Nicola Conci (Ita/XDS-Astana) 10. Davide Piganzoli (Ita/Polti-Visit Malta) Giro d'Italia overall standings: 1. Mads Pedersen (Den/Lidl-Trek) 3hrs 36 mins 14secs 2. Wout van Aert (Bel/Visma-Lease A Bike) 4secs 3. Orluis Aular (Spa/Movistar) 6secs 4. Francesco Busatto (Ita/Intermarche Wanty) 10secs 5. Tom Pidcock (GBR/Q36.5) Same time 6. Diego Ulussi (Ita/XDS-Astana) 7. Richard Carapaz (Ecu/EF Education-EasyPost) 8. Max Poole (GBR/Picnic-PostNL) 9. Nicola Conci (Ita/XDS-Astana) 10. Davide Piganzoli (Ita/Polti-Visit Malta)
