Ulissi climbs with the best at Giro finish to Sega di Ala

Diego Ulissi confirmed his strong form for the final week of the Giro d’Italia coming home in 4th place on stage 17 from Canazei to Sega di Ala (193km).

The opening kilometres were marked by a breakaway of 25 riders which went away and featured Valerio Conti and Alessandro Covi representing UAE Team Emirates.

The main pack set a fierce tempo to bring back the breakaway with just Dan Martin (Israel Start Up Nation) resisting to hold on for the victory. Ulissi crossed the line 1’20’’ later, leading home the group of the Maglia Rosa.

Ulissi : “I’m happy with the result : the form is getting better each day and I feel like the troubles I had earlier in the year are behind me, my morale is strong. The last climb was very tough but the legs were good and I could dig in and get a good result. We’ll try for more opportunities on the stages that are left.”

Egan Bernal continues to lead the race with Davide Formolo dropping back to 15th at 29’17’’. Tomorrow stage 18 is the longest day of the race and takes the riders on a largely flat route from Rovereto to Stradella (231km).

Giro d’Italia Stage 17 results

1.Dan Martin (Israel Start Up Nation) 4:54:38
2.Joao Almeida (Deceuninck-Quickstep) +13’’
3.Simon Yates (BikeExchange) +30’’
4.Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates) +1’20’’

Giro d’Italia General Classification after stage 17

1.Egan Bernal (Ineos-Grenadiers) 66:36:04
2.Damiano Caruso (Bahrain-Victorious) +2’24’’
3.Simon Yates (BikeExchange) 3’23’’
15. Davide Formolo (UAE Team Emirates) +29’17’’