Giro d'Italia

Lecce, the breathtaking city renowned for its distinct Baroque architecture, returned at the Giro d’Italia for the first time in 22 years. It was only the fifth stage finish hosted by the city situated in the Salentine Peninsula, whose first appearance at the Corsa Rosa was recorded in 1929, when the legendary Alfredo Binda prevailed after almost ten hours in the saddle.

Tuesday’s stage was much shorter, and faster for that matter, concluding with the first real bunch sprint of this edition. It was a hectic one, due to the many teams jostling for position at the front, but also because of the presence of many tricky corners that complicated matters a bit.

Grand Tour debutant Paul Magnier was involved in the fight for a good result, making his way through the field in the final kilometers, but unfortunately for him, the Frenchman was boxed in in the last 150 meters and couldn’t show his speed. In the end, it was a seventh place for the 21-year-old as Casper Van Uden (Picnic PostNL) took the win, for his third World Tour top ten of the season – an encouraging result for Paul ahead of the next flat stages.

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