Caleb Ewan prevailed in a dramatic sprint finish to win the seventh stage of the Giro d’Italia, beating Fernando Gaviria and Sam Bennett in a three-way battle along the twisting final straight in Alberobello.
The Australian Orica-Scott rider has endured bad luck and disappointment in the Giro’s opening week, but launched a bid for the win with 300m to go and held off Gaviria (Quick-Step), chasing his third stage victory this year, and Ireland’s Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) by half a wheel. Russia’s Dmitriy Kozontchuk (Gazprom-Rusvelo) and Italian riders Giuseppe Fonzi (Wilier-Triestina) and Simone Ponzi (CCC-Sprandi-Polkowice) formed an early breakaway, staying clear until the pack reeled them in with 18km to go.
Kristijan Koren (Cannondale-Drapac) attempted a breakaway with 4km to go but was quickly caught before the sprinters jostled aggressively for position on the downhill run to the line, with riders on Gaviria and Bennett’s teams exchanging words after the race. Ewan stole a march on his rivals to lead going into the final turn and held on to earn a welcome stage victory.
Luxembourg’s Bob Jungels (Quick-Step) maintained his six-second lead over Geraint Thomas in the overall standings after a quiet day for the general classification contenders. Today’s stage features a Category 2 climb in the middle of the 189km route along the Adriatic coast from Molfetta to Peschici.
Stage seven results
1 Caleb Ewan (Orica) 5:35:18” 2 Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step) ST 3 Sam Bennett (Bora) 4 Andre Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) 5 Jasper Stuyven (Trek) 6 Ryan Gibbons (Dimension Data) 7 Enrico Battaglin (Lotto-NL) 8 Rüdiger Selig (Bora) 9 Alexey Tsatevich (Gazprom) 10 Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain)
General classification
1 Bob Jungels (Quick-Step) 28:20.47sec 2 Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) +6sec 3 Adam Yates (Orica) +10sec 4 Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain) +10sec 5 Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R) +10sec 6 Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) 7 Nairo Quintana (Movistar) 8 Bauke Mollema (Trek) 9 Andrey Amador (Movistar) 10 Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing)
