Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing Team) took his revenge over Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) after losing stage 1 in Jerusalem by only two seconds as he rode 22 seconds faster than the third-placed world champion in the individual time trial from Trento to Rovereto in stage 16 of the 101st Giro d’Italia. Tony Martin (Team Katusha – Alpecin) finished 14 seconds behind in second place.
The defending champion didn’t regain enough time on race leader Simon Yates (Mitchelton – Scott) to wrestle the lead off of Yates, who proved himself once again in the form of his life as he maintained an advantage of 56 seconds over his closest rival in the overall ranking. Domenico Pozzovivo (Bahrain – Merida), Chris Froome (Team Sky) and Thibaut Pinot (Groupama – FDJ) are more than three minutes adrift before the remaining three mountain stages. Dennis, who was the second Maglia Rosa between Dumoulin and Yates, moved back into the top 10 (6th at 5’04’’).
STATISTICS
- First stage win at the Giro for Rohan Dennis and second individual success in a Grand Tour after the opening time trial of the 2015 Tour de France in Utrecht. This is his fourth victory this year after winning the Australian time-trial championship, stage 4 of the Abu Dhabi Tour and stage 7 of Tirreno-Adriatico (all ITT).
- This is the first Australian stage victory in the 101st Giro d’Italia. In 16 stages, riders from nine different countries have won: The Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Colombia, Ireland, Ecuador, Great Britain, Slovenia and Australia.
- The Giro is now the Grand Tour in which Australians have won the most: 31 stages (30 at the Tour de France, 11 at La Vuelta).
- 51.3km/h: this is the 14th fastest individual time trial in the entire history of the Giro d’Italia, the record being the prologue of Pescara (7.6km) won by Rik Verbrugghe at 58.874km/h in 2001.
- Second podium at the Giro for Tony Martin, 10 years after he was second in stage 21 to Milan in 2008.
FINAL RESULT
1 – Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing Team) – 34.2km in 40’00”, average speed 51.3km/h
2 – Tony Martin (Team Katusha Alpecin) at 14?
3 – Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) at 22?
4 – Jos Van Emden (Team Lotto NL – Jumbo) at 27?
5 – Chris Froome (Team Sky) at 35?
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1 – Simon Yates (Mitchelton – Scott)
2 – Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) at 56?
3 – Domenico Pozzovivo (Bahrain – Merida) at 3’11”
4 – Chris Froome (Team Sky) at 3’50”
5 – Thibaut Pinot (Groupama – FDJ) at 4’19”
All rankings
JERSEYS
- Maglia Rosa (pink), general classification leader, sponsored by Enel – Simon Yates (Mitchelton – Scott)
- Maglia Ciclamino (cyclamen), sprinter classification leader, sponsored by Segafredo – Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors)
- Maglia Azzurra (blue), King of the Mountains classification leader, sponsored by Banca Mediolanum – Simon Yates (Mitchelton – Scott), jersey worn by Giulio Ciccone (Bardiani CSF)
- Maglia Bianca (white), young rider general classification leader, sponsored by Eurospin – Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana Pro Team)
PRESS CONFERENCE
The stage winner, Rohan Dennis, said: “I was hoping to take more time out of some of the climbers but the stage win surpasses that target. I wanted two time-trial victories in the Giro but I missed out in Jerusalem so I settled for the Maglia Rosa for a few days. I never considered taking it easy after I lost the Maglia Rosa. I still target the top 10. So far I’ve been happy with my performances at the Giro. Anybody in the top 10 now is a threat and, if I have a bad day, it’s also a threat to my top 10.”
The Maglia Rosa, Simon Yates, said: “For long time trials, this is definitely the best I’ve ever done. I’ve had better placings but in short time trials or prologues that suited my characteristics. I’m very happy with the outcome today. I did have time checks. On a course like that, it didn’t change anything in my pacing but I liked to know where I am compared to my rivals. I don’t feel very fresh at this stage of the Giro; I feel pretty tired and there are very difficult stages to come. I’ll have to defend instead of attacking. Anybody within 10 minutes is still dangerous. In the Giro, a lot of strange things happen. Hopefully, I’ll have no bad days until we reach Rome. I have a very good team to support me until the very final of the climbs.”
