The Czech spends time at the front on a day of suffering at the Corsa Rosa.
The third week of the race got underway with miserable weather conditions, just what the riders didn’t want at the start of a 200km stage comprising four classified climbs – Carbonare, Candriai, Santa Barbara and Passo di San Valentino – and almost 5000 vertical meters.
None of these could stop Josef Cerny from launching one of the stage’s first attacks and booking a place in what looked to be a promising six-man breakaway, which swelled to a massive 26 riders by the time they hit the slopes of the first ascent. The nagging rain continued to accompany the leading group, where the multiple Czech ITT Champion continued to put in a solid effort, helping the escapees take their advantage to a comfortable nine minutes.
His time at the front of the race came to an end only on the penultimate climb of the day, where the many attacks that came on a steep part of the road shattered the group and left only a handful of riders up the road. From there, Christiano Scaroni (XDS-Astana) took the victory, around one minute ahead of the first general classification men. In the overall standings, Soudal Quick-Step’s James Knox gained two positions and is now 19th with five stages to go.
“It was a hard start, made more difficult by the weather, but I did my best to be in the break. I left everything out there, even though the parcours didn’t really suit me, and after getting dropped on the penultimate climb I used the last energy I still had to help James as much as possible. It was a really tough day of racing, but I am content with the effort I put in”, Josef said after the stage.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
