Nat Bromhead
Aussie powerhouse Rohan Dennis will wear the pink Giro d’Italia leader’s jersey for the third straight day after holding top spot in Sicily overnight.
In epic and thrilling racing, the 174 remaining riders of the 101st Giro battled through 202km of stunning countryside including 3000m of elevation. Action and attacks came thick and fast – the day far more resembling a pivotal finale than opening homeland stage.
Tim Wellens of Lotto-Fix All won the stage with Michael Woods (EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale) second and Enrico Battaglin of LottoNL-Jumbo third. Dennis retains his overall lead by just 1-second over Tom Dumoulin while Team Sky’s Chris Froome is now 55-seconds behind.
“It is great to keep the Maglia Rosa for another day,” said a joyful Rohan Dennis after the podium presentation.”The team did everything possible to put me in the best position and then I had a couple of guys around me until the final bit. It was a bit stressful but I managed to stay up there.
Dennis added that ideally he would have liked to use the stage to build upon his slender lead. “If I was feeling good, I could try and take the sprint,” he said. “But with 250m to go, I knew it wasn’t possible, so I just made sure there were no big gaps.”
“It was a hectic day – there were a lot of corners and a lot of people on the roads,” he continued. “It was just about trying to stay out of trouble in the last 10km until the bottom of the climb. It’s a big achievement to keep the Maglia Rosa for another day. It’s all thanks to my teammates, I can’t thank them enough.”
The Giro d’Italia continues tonight with the 150km Stage 5 – the action can be viewed commercial free on Eurosport with Stage 4 highlights from 8pm and live racing from 9:15pm.
Rohan Dennis Discusses His GC Aspirations In A Girona Cafe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK73uC0-Q1U&t=122s
