Ineos-Grenadiers Filippo Ganna won some reverse prize money after smoking the Stage 3 TT at Volta ao Algarve on Friday. The Italian TT specialist was fined 200 Swiss francs after a technical infringement before the start in Vilamoura, as first reported by Wielierflits.
Ganna took his first dub of the season in the 19.5-km test. The Italian champion stopped the clock in 21:53.663 averaging 53.5 km/h. But no sooner had he crossed the line, race officials said that Ganna had failed to present his bike for inspection at least 10 minutes before his start time. Fortunately, it’s just a bit of cash–doesn’t affect the stage result.
Fines galore
He wasn’t the only one to get dinged. Twelve other riders were also fined for the same offence, including teammates Bob Jungels and Kévin Vauquelin.
Although he couldn’t top Ganna, Lidl-Trek’s Juan Ayuso had a great ride. Second on the stage, just 5.686 seconds behind Ganna, he gained 7.025 seconds on Paul Seixas to move into the overall lead.
Jakob Söderqvist placed third on the stage. Carson Miles, the lone Canuck, riding for his new Conti team, Anicolor / Campicarn, was 71st. He now sits 40th overall with two stages to go.
Filippo Ganna fined by UCI for using illegal hand position at Vuelta a San Juan
This wasn’t the first time that Ganna was involved in a bit of weirdness at the Portuguese stage race. Last year, he won Stage 1. Well, kinda.
Toward the end, the Italian took advantage of a late split in the peloton. But then most of the sprinters went the wrong way in a weird finish. Ganna was one of the few riders who followed the correct route and ended up taking the win. But in the end, after all the confusion, race organizers decided not to record an official result.
Stage 4 goes from Albufeira to Lagos for a total of 175.1km. Although it flattens out in the end, there is a tough climb mid-way. It’s also being shown on FloBikes.com, with coverage beginning at 9:00 a.m. EST.
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