News | Giro d'Italia • May 22, 2018
Aru and Ulissi take time trial top ten
Italian duo prove surprise package in the 16th stage of the Giro d'Italia
UAE Team Emirates’ Fabio Aru and Diego Ulissi exceeded expectations during today’s Stage 16, as the Italian National Champion and his compatriot secured a top ten finishes in the Individual Time Trial (ITT). Aru, naturally a climbing specialist, made light work of the 34km route as he powered across the finish line to secure sixth, whilst Ulissi produced an equally stellar ride on the Colnago KOne to finish eighth.
The eventual winner, Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing Team) finished with a time of 40:00, but the pink jersey wearer, Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) holds onto the General Classification lead for another day.
Commenting on the team’s remarkable performance, Aru said: “My performance in the TT has been good. I did not forget the difficulties I faced in the past days, however the Giro goes on and I’ll face every day with serenity. I thank everyone who supported me: the team, my family and the fans, I received many messages of support which made me very happy”.
Tomorrow’s Stage 17 could deliver a few surprises. At 155 km and with some moderate but not difficult climbs, the stage doesn’t throw up too many challenges. However, those attackers looking to get into an early breakaway could take advantage of the opening 10 km ascent as they pursue the various jerseys still up for grabs. The peloton’s best opportunity to reign in the attacking group will be in the final third of the race, where the terrain flattens out and, should they be caught, we will undoubtedly be in for a sprint finish. But riders beware, the final 5km is littered with roundabouts – the last of which is extremely wide and comes just 500m from the finish.
Stage 16 results
1 Rohan Dennis (BMC) 40h00′
2 Tony Martin (Katusha) 14″
3 Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) 22″
6 Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) 37″
8 Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates) 40″
General classification after stage 16
1 Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) 66h39’14”
2 Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) 56″
3 Domenico Pozzovivo (Bahrain-Merida) 3’11”
22 Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) 24’14”
