On the steep cobbled climb of Wednesday's stage, the German concluded eighth for his third top 10 finish at the Corsa Rosa.
After rolling through the neutralized zone, stage 11 of the Giro d'Italia (Assisi – Osimo, 156 kilometers) got off to a very aggressive start, with attacks coming thick and fast, as a plethora of riders tried to book a place in the escape. One of these was Dwars door West-Vlaanderen victor Rémi Cavagna, who put in several accelerations in an attempt to join the move, but a relentless peloton responded each time, allowing a five-man group to jump clear only after 40 kilometers.
The quintet managed to take their advantage to four minutes, but once the bunch turned on the gas, the gap was halved long before the second intermediate sprint of the day, which came in Filottrano. Inside the last ten kilometers, just as the pack was reeling in the remnants of the breakaway, the nervousness of the pack was palpable, and the first one to open the hostilities was Zdenek Stybar, who attacked on the first of the two climbs that featured in the final.
The Czech Champion was joined by Tim Wellens (Lotto-FixAll) and the two of them carved out an advantage of ten seconds, which didn't prove enough, as race leader Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) attacked when the road kicked up again on a punishing 16% section and passed the duo on his way to claiming the victory ahead of Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb).
"Honestly, I thought that was the best moment to go. When Wellens linked up with me, we shared the work and got a nice gap, but once the GC men made their move it became clear we didn't stand any chance. I would have liked more from this stage, but it is as it is. I'm enjoying this Giro, the morale of the team is high and we hope to be protagonists in other stages from here to Rome", Stybar said in Osimo, where another Quick-Step Floors rider, Max Schachmann, also put in an impressive display.
The 24-year-old was part of the first chasing group which contained several GC contenders and finished in a solid eighth on the technical and wicked climb of Wednesday's stage which saw many other experienced riders crack, a result that helped the powerful German gain a place in the overall standings for the second straight stage. His teammate Elia Viviani safely concluded the race a few minutes back and donned the iconic maglia ciclamino for the tenth consecutive day.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele/ Getty Images
