Stage 11 winner Ramunas Navardauskas (Garmin-Sharp) flies the Lithuania flag on the podium(Image credit: Sirotti)
Ramunas Navardauskas (Garmin-Sharp) soloed to victory on stage 11 at the Giro d'Italia(Image credit: Sirotti)
Daniel Oss (BMC) and Ramunas Navardauskas (Garmin - Sharp)(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Ramunas Navardauskas (Garmin-Sharp) produced a perfectly timed effort to win the Giro d'Italiastage 17 sprint in Vicenza, to discover a few seconds later that Giovanni Visconti (Movistar) had won alone, 19 seconds earlier.
The lanky Lithuanian rider opted not to wear a race radio during the stage and so wasn't aware of Visconti's late move until his soigneur confirmed the news to him. The expression on his face turned from joy to disbelief, to disappointment and then to embarrassment.
"I made the mistake of not taking a race radio today," he said.
"I didn't know that Visconti was away up front, and so I tried to do my best. It was enough to win the sprint, and I honestly thought I'd won the stage."
While most of the Giro d'Italia peloton is tired after a long, hard and weather challenged race, Navardauskas is still fresh and chasing success.
He won stage 11 of the Giro d'Italia to Vajont and was in the breakaway of the day on stage 16, finishing fourth in Ivrea. He still had the strength to be part of the front group of 40 riders that formed on the climb before Vicenza and rode a perfect finale. His only problem was that Visconti was even stronger.
"I was in a good position on the last climb, and so I tried to hold with the front group. Then I tried to stay at the front and see what happened. I knew the last corners, tried to be safe and sprint for victory. I won it, but not for first place. Still, second place is still good."
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Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
