Jan Polanc helps ignite stage 8th with a remarkable attempt

UAE Team Emirates’s Jan Polanc helped ignite today’s stage of the Giro d’Italia after staying away in the break for over 180kms. Diego Ulissi and Fabio Aru were kept safe at the front of the peloton and finished 16th and 20th respectively, just seven seconds behind the race winner.

The 209km stage, one of the longest in this year’s Giro, ran from Praia a Mare to Montevergine di Mercogliano, where the riders had to tackle yet another punishing summit finish. After 25kms of high paced racing, along Italy’s Tyrrhenian coast, a five man breakaway took off; UAE Team Emirates’ Jan Polanc (phioto Bettini) reacted to the threat, leaving the peloton behind to bridge the gap and join the escapees. The group continued to pull away from the main pack setting a strong pace and creating a decent gap, which was still around the five minute mark with 40km to go. Polanc’s ongoing turns on the front of the group allowed the breakaway to dictate the race pace and kept the peloton at bay for over four hours.

As the race moved through Belpasso and reached the foot of the final climb, the rain started to fall making the roads slippery and disrupted the rhythm of the race. Polanc’s group still had two minutes on the peloton as the climb began and, after 7kms of ascending, the breakaway had dropped three of its riders. With 2kms to go Polanc’s own emphatic effort ended and he was brought back by the peloton as well.

The race was finally won by the young Ecuadorian climber Richard Carapaz (Movistar) who accelerated off the front of the pack with 1.5kms to go and took a solo win.

Reflecting on his race, Jan Polanc said: “Today’s conditions suited me well. When the breakaway went, it was just the right size and we rode well together. Unfortunately Mitchelton-Scott wouldn’t let us go too far up the road and in the end the gap wasn’t big enough to keep the peloton from catching us on the summit finish. We went for the Stage win and missed out today, so we will have to try again tomorrow.”

Stage Nine will be another long day in the saddle for the team, with 225kms of racing. The route starts in Pesco Sanita and culminates with a summit finish at Gran Sasso d’Italia – a brutal climb that takes the riders 2135m above sea level. The first 100km will take place on a flat and fast flowing road between Benevento and Rionero Sannitico before the riders are faced with the Roccaraso categorized climb and a long decent into Sulmona and Popoli. After the two intermediate sprints, the route takes in the final climb (approx. 45 km), with a few short countersloping stretches. The final ascent is divided into two parts: the first one until Calascio, and the second one up to the finish, with gradients topping out at 13%.

Stage 8 results
1 Richard Carapaz (Team Movistar) 5h11’35”
2 Davide Formolo (Bora-Hansgrohe) 7″
3 Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) s.t.
16 Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates) s.t.

General classification after stage 8
1 Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) 31h43’12”
2 Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) 16″
3 Johan Esteban Chavez (Mitchelton-Scott) 26″
11 Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) 1’12”