The Giro d’Italia has lost its first rider to the time cut, and he didn’t miss out on one of the race’s brutal multi-mountain stages.
Norwegian sprinter Erlend Blikra crossed the finish line of stage 11 in Chiavari 37:06 behind the day’s stage winner, Jhonatan Narváez, meaning he missed the time cut of 35:35 by 1:31.
Uno-X Mobility rider Blikra was the 164th and last rider to cross the line on Wednesday’s 195km hilly stage from Porcari, with three others – his teammate Martin Tjøtta, plus Edward Planckaert and Davide Ballerini – not making the finish.
Both Blikra and Tjøtta had been battling injury and illness at the Giro, with Blikra getting caught in a crash on stage 1 before falling ill after the race hit Italy.
“Today was a real battle, but I came up just outside the time limit after a brutally hard day on the bike, fighting together with Martin Tjøtta.
Blikra had been struggling at the race for several days, finishing 168th, 165th, and 166th on stages 7, 8, and 9 before the rest day. The stage 10 time trial saw Tjøtta cross the line in dead last, 12 minutes behind stage winner Filippo Ganna, while Blikra finished 164th, 10:16 down.
Both men battled on to begin stage 11, but the hilly stage through the Cinque Terre of Liguria proved too much for 25-year-old Tjøtta, who abandoned the race 40km from the finish.
Despite the loss of both riders, which leaves Uno-X Mobility with five for the remainder of the race after Ådne Holter’s stage 2 withdrawal, both can look back on some good results at the Giro.
Blikra sprinted to sixth place in Sofia on stage 3, while Tjøtta was third from the break on stage 8 in Fermo, just behind Uno-X Mobility teammate Andreas Leknessund in second place.
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