Chris Harper has given Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling newfound hope in the general classification after he fought his way into a decisive breakaway that landed him in fourth place on a gruelling stage 11 at the Giro d’Italia.
With that move he gained 3:24 back on the race favourites, and added to the already strong contingent from Australia in the top 10 of the General Classification (GC), with Ben O’Connor (Jayco-AlUla) in fifth, Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) sixth, Michael Storer (Tudor) seventh and Harper now tenth.
Harper was part of a larger breakaway that split apart over the steep and technical terrain into Chiavari, and while he couldn’t hold onto eventual winner Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and runner-up Enric Mas (Movistar), he did manage to finish just behind third-placed Diego Ulissi (XDS Astana) in fourth.
The breakaway had gained nearly three and a half minutes on the reduced field that included all the overall classification favourites, meaning Harper moved up seven places into 10th on the GC standings, now at 4:09 behind the maglia rosa Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain-Victorious).
Harper said he wasn’t surprised the favourites let the breakaway gain so much time on the field, likely due to the mountain stages to come, including on stage 14 atop the climb in Pila, at 1,793 metres, plus the back-to-back grand finale on stage 19 at Alleghe (Piani di Pezzè) and stage 20 at Piancavallo.
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