Nico Denz wins his second stage in three days, ahead of Canadian Derek Gee

(Cassano Magnago) Nico Denz claimed his second stage victory in the Tour of Italy after starting almost hastily to celebrate his triumph on Saturday, while Bruno Armirail became the first Frenchman to claim the leader’s pink jersey since the beginning of this century.

Denz raised his arms in the air as he crossed the finish line of the 14^e step, but it seems that he hadn’t noticed the presence of the Canadian Derek Gee on his right. However, the German managed to get ahead of Gee by half a wheel.

Denz and Gee completed the 194km distance between Sierre, Switzerland, and Cassano Magnago in four hours 37 minutes 30 seconds, as did Italian Alberto Bettiol.

On Thursday, Denz finished first in the 12^e stage for the first victory of his career in a Grand Tour, in his sixth appearance at the Giro.

As for Gee, it is the third time since the start of the competition that he has finished a stage in second position. He had achieved the feat during the eighth and 10^e stage. On Friday, Gee finished in fourth place.

For its part, Armirail won the pink jersey held by Geraint Thomas, and he is the first French cyclist to wear the pink jersey since Laurent Jalabert, in 1999.

He holds a lead of one minute 41 seconds over Thomas. Primoz Roglic ranks third, two seconds behind Thomas.

In the cumulative ranking, Gee occupies the 21^e rank, 13 minutes seven seconds behind the leader.

The 15^e Sunday’s stage features four classified climbs on the 195-kilometre route between Seregno and Bergamo.

The Giro ends in Rome in eight days.