Aru: “It has been a difficult day for me”

UAE Team Emirates’ Fabio Aru lost time, now 15th of GC, following Stage nine of the Giro d’Italia. The Italian National Champion, who finished 24th, battled hard on today’s 225km route – the first 100km played out on the flat, whilst the second half saw the peloton tackle steep climbs and finish atop the brutal Gran Sasso d’Italia. The race was won by pink jersey wearer, Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott).

Commenting on his performance, Aru said: “It has been a difficult day for me. I could not keep up with the pace of the other riders on the final climb. I didn’t have a good feeling so the result was not what I had hoped, and I’m not happy about it. These things can happen during the period of 21 days, it is part of our sport. I’m human. Tomorrow there will be a rest day, then we will be ready to face the remaining two weeks during which I am aiming to improve my riding and results.”

Riders will have a days respite tomorrow, as the second official rest day allows them to regain energy for the upcoming stages and, above all, stage ten, the longest on this year’s tour at 239km. The riders will travel from Penne to Gualdo Tadino, with the opening kilometres pivotal for the attackers, who could look to start an early breakaway on the day’s opening climb to Fonte Della Creta. The peloton will take in a number of rolling hills and climbs, before heading into the final 20kms, played out on the flat.

Stage 9 results

1 Simon Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott 5:54:13
2 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ “
3 Johan Esteban Chaves (Col) Mitchelton-Scott “
24 Fabio Aru (Ita) UAE Team Emirates +1:14

General classification after stage 9

1 Simon Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott 37:37:15
2 Johan Esteban Chavez (Col) Mitchelton-Scott +0:32
3 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Sunweb +0:38
15 Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) 2’36”