Giro d’Italia, Stage 19. Aleksandr Vlasov puts strong effort to take fifth atop Alpe di Mera
The Giro d’Italia comes to an end with the final weekend of the third week featuring two high-mountain stages and the final individual time trial in Milan. Stage 19 of the race brought the peloton to the Alps with the summit finish atop long and steep Alpe di Mera.
Aleksandr Vlasov put a very strong effort on the final climb, following the leaders and attacking by himself. At the end of the day the Astana – Premier Tech leader finished fifth, just a few seconds behind the pink jersey Egan Bernal.
“Well, today I felt much better than in previous days and the legs worked well, so I tried to do my best on this final climb. The team worked perfectly for me, the guys brought me in a perfect position before the steepest part of the climb, so I was able to save some energy for the last kilometres. After a few tough days I am really happy with my performance today, which gives me some additional motivation and confidence ahead of the last mountain stage and the final time trial”, – said Aleksandr Vlasov.
The Britton Simon Yates won the stage after a powerful solo attack with a few kilometres to the top of Alpe di Mera. He was followed by Joao Almeida, Egan Bernal, Damiano Caruso and Aleksandr Vlasov.
Bernal still leads the General Classification, while Vlasov holds his fourth place, 6 minutes and 11 seconds behind the race leader.
Fabio Felline won’t start tomorrow as he left the team tonight for home to be next to his wife who is waiting for a child very soon.
Giro d’Italia, Stage 19. Abbiategrasso – Alpe di Mera, 166 km.
Stage Top-3: 1. Simon Yates (Team BikeExchange); 2. Joao Almeida (Deceuninck – Quick Step); 3. Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers).
Astana – Premier Tech stage Top-3: 5. Aleksandr Vlasov; 25. Luis Leon Sanchez; 33. Vadim Pronskiy.
Photo credit: @Gettysport