Giro d'Italia

One of Italy’s most stunning cities, Lucca returned as a stage finish at the Corsa Rosa for the first time in almost four decades since the previous visit, when Francesco Moser won an individual time trial there. More shocking was that before Wednesday, the last time a road stage concluded there was in 1935 – the year the Vuelta a España was created.

On paper, it should have been a perfect opportunity for the sprinters to shine despite the presence of Passo del Bracco and Montemagno on the 178km course, but the script was ripped apart in the final 80 kilometers. This happened as a result of several teams pushing hard on the first climb of the day and catching the original breakaway early, which opened the door to fresh attacks.

The newly-formed quartet put a minute between them and the peloton, which should have been a manageable gap for the bunch, but the route – mostly downhill – the wind and the reluctance of some squads to commit to the chase all ended up playing into the escapees’ advantage, who made it for just a couple of seconds. Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) took the win, while Tim Merlier sprinted to eighth place for his third top ten in as many consecutive stages here at the Giro d’Italia.

Merlier, who was briefly dropped on Bracco before being brought back to the peloton by his Soudal Quick-Step teammates, shared his view on the stage: “Today there were some strange team tactics. Some squads killed themselves in an attempt to drop the sprinters and then the teams didn’t work well together. The breakaway remained clear, so chapeau to them. There’s not too much to say.”

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