Fabio Aru tried to put on a brave face after his bad day at the Giro d'Italia but his position on the bike and especially his face as he crossed the finish line in the rain told a different story.
The Astana team leader started the Giro d'Italia aggressively but now seems to be on the back foot. He was unable to go on the attack and distance Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) in the hilly stages after his shoulder injury, and Contador has now attacked him on back to back stages and twice revealed weaknesses.
Aru crossed the line in 26th place on the Monte Berico hills overlooking Vicenza, after fighting to stay in contact as Philippe Gilbert (BMC) and Contador surged to the line. He was among the wheels in the long line of riders but race officials ruled that there were gaps between the riders, meaning Aru was timed as finishing eight seconds behind Contador. The Spaniard also collected a six-second time bonus for second place, shunting Aru to 17 seconds back in the overall classification.
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