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Once more, the intrepid Canadian Derek Gee was in the breakaway.
Things we love to see 🇨🇦
🇮🇹 #Giro #GeeForce pic.twitter.com/rdtNhZyLUp
— Israel – Premier Tech (@IsraelPremTech) May 19, 2023
The Course
After the top of the Salita del Gran San Bernardo had already been cut by 3.5 km earlier in the week–the riders instead detouring through a long tunnel–race organizers removed the climb all together earlier on Friday. The stage was cut from 199 km to 74.6 km, and the peloton bussed to Le Châble at the foot of the Croix de Couer.
The Croix de Couer was formidable. It was 15.4 km of 8.8 percent, the last 4 km at 10.3 percent. After the descent, the race would move along the valley floor for 25 km before the summit finish of Crans Montana, 2.9 km of 7.2 percent. The weather wasn’t so bad on Friday.
Given the adverse weather conditions, especially on the Italian side, the Commission decided to meet the athletes’ requests by applying the Extreme Weather Protocol.
Stage 13 will be shortened with the new km 0 being set at Le Chable, at the bottom of the Croix de Couer. The… pic.twitter.com/6VwMOw8enS
— Giro d’Italia (@giroditalia) May 19, 2023
Attacks flew off right from Le Châble. Thibaut Pinot was part of the first move, hoping to get back into the KOM game. This group was hauled back, but Pinot went again, this time with that man, Derek Gee, along with his young American teammate Matthew Riccitello.
Pinot put himself within 14 points of mountains classification Davide Bais by cresting first; Gee bounced up to ninth in the competition. It was white-knuckle stuff on the descent. The Pinot-Gee gang, now a quintet, reached the valley floor with a 3:30 lead on the peloton.
The gap was down to 3:00 by the start of Crans Montana. Immediately, Pinot dashed away, drawing Ecuadorian Jefferson Alexander Cepeda and Movistar’s Einar Rubio. Gee fought his way back to them before launching his own attack. Pinot went again and again and Cepeda and Rubio kept coming back. Cepeda took his leave of his fellows with 5.3 km to climb and it was Pinot’s turn to close.
Saturday’s route contains a Cat. 1 climb in the first quarter of the 194 km. It seems like another one for the sprinters. Gee finished a solid fourth.
2023 Giro d’Italia Stage 13
1) Nico Denz (Germany/Bora-Hansgrohe) 4:18:11
2) Toms Skujiņš (Latvia/Trek-Segafredo) s.t.
3) Sebastian Berwick (Australia/Israel-Premier Tech) +0:03
4)…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Canadian Cycling Magazine…
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