(Viareggio) In cold and rainy weather, Magnus Cort won the 10e stage of the Cycling Tour of Italy on Tuesday, while Geraint Thomas maintained his hold on the leader’s pink jersey.
Cort beat Canadian Derek Gee and Italian Alessandro de Marchi at the end of the 196 km course through the Tuscan Apennines, from Scandiano to Viareggio on the Mediterranean coast. All three were part of a breakaway.
Cort and Gee negotiated the course in four hours 51 minutes 15 seconds, two seconds faster than de Marchi.
This triumph allowed Cort to add the Giro to his list of Grand Tour stage victories, having won six career stages in the Tour of Spain and two in the Tour de France.
Thomas had moved up to the top of the general classification on Sunday after favorite Remco Evenepoel was forced to withdraw following a positive coronavirus test. Evenepoel held a 45 second lead over Thomas.
Other cyclists had to give up after testing positive for COVID-19, including Domenico Pozzovivo and Rigoberto Urán.
Thomas maintained his two-second lead over Primoz Roglic after the pair finished the race safely in the peloton in dire conditions, 51 seconds behind Cort.
The conditions were terrible from the start of the stage, with rain and freezing temperatures.
There was even talk of changing the route to the top of the day’s main climb, the second-category Passo delle Radici.
Team buses followed the riders for some time in case they were needed to transport them if conditions worsened, before it was finally decided to run the stage as usual.
However, the race organizers have announced that Friday’s stage 13 towards the summit finish in Crans-Montana will be shortened and that the first category climb of the Passo del Gran San Bernardo will be canceled due to snowfall and the risk of avalanches.
The 11e Wednesday’s stage is a 219 kilometer route between Camaiore and Tortona, with three lower category climbs.
The Tour of Italy will end on May 28 in Rome.
