Evans wins stage 3 of Giro del Trentino

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Cadel Evans (BMC) buttressed his overall lead at the Giro del Trentino by claiming victory on the hilltop finish at Pozza di Roncone at the end of stage 3. The Australian showcased his pre-Giro d’Italia form by fending off a stiff challenge from Domenico Pozzovivo (Ag2r-La Mondiale) in the final kilometre to seal the win.

On paper, it was the least demanding of the Giro del Trentino’s three road stages, although in this corner of the world, it is impossible to go far without the road tilting skywards. The 184km stage was run off across rugged terrain, including the category 1 Passo del Durone, but the combined efforts of Astana and Lampre-Merida brought the early escapees back together at the base of the final climb.

Team Sky took over the pace-making at the base of the 2.8km haul up to Pozza, immediately laying down a brisk tempo on the lower slopes. As the gradient began to bite and jumped up to 15%, however, the strong men came to the fore, with Pozzovivo and Evans forcing the issue underneath the red kite.

They were initially joined by and Francesco Manuel Bongiorno (Bardiani-CSF) and Astana pair Michele Scarponi and Mikel Landa, but they soon relented under the impetus of Evans and Pozzovivo’s forcing.

In the final 200 metres, Evans kicked once again and that was enough to put daylight between himself and the resilient Pozzovivo. He crossed the line 3 seconds clear of the diminutive Italian, while the Astana tandem of Landa and Scarponi came home 6 seconds later.

Igor Anton (Movistar) managed to overhaul Bongiorno on the final ramps to take 5th place, 20 seconds down. Bongiorno came home next, in a group with Fabio Aru (Astana), Tiago Machado (NetApp-Endura) and young talent South African talent Louis Meintjes (MTN-Qhubeka).

Cataldo in the early break

There was a rapid start to proceedings and it took almost an hour of racing for a break to gain any traction, with Team Sky prominent in shutting down the early moves until their own Dario Cataldo lead an 12-man group clear.

With Damiano Caruso (Cannondale), Adriano Malori (Movistar) and Diego Rosa (Androni Venzuela) also on board, the break was a solid one and by kilometre 80, they had a lead of 4:40 over the peloton.

At that point, the BMC team of the race leader Evans was triggered into action and they set about trimming down the break’s lead over the climb of Daone and the Passo Durone. Cataldo’s forcing over the Durone was enough to splinter the leading group but they were reunited on the descent and entered the final 35 kilometres with 2:40 still in hand on the bunch.

When Ag2r and Astana joined the chase, however, the break’s lead began to dwindle still faster and their chances were reduced still further when they started to attack one another in the final 20 kilometres. Caruso, Mateusz Taciak (CCC Polsat), Yonathan Monsalve (Neri Sottoli) and Antonio Piedra (Caja Rural) were the last survivors left out in front, but they were swept up on the approach the final climb, where Evans and Pozzovivo ultimately came to the fore.

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