Giro d'Italia stage 11: Zakarin motors to win on F1 track in Imola

Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha) made it another win for the breakaway with victory on a rain-soaked stage 11 of the Giro d'Italia. Zakarin was part of the early 10-man break, and launched his winning move on the penultimate climb of the day. 

The Russian powered around the slippery Imola circuit to solo to the finish line with Carlos Betancur (AG2R-La Mondiale) sprinting for second almost a minute behind Zakarin. Franco Pellizotti finished third.

"I started the stage in good heart, and the breakaway riders worked well together. I made one attempt to get away, and at the second try, I made it," Zakarin explained after the stage. "I learned a lesson in the stage that Intxausti won because that day I made the mistake of attacking too early. This time, I waited until the last moment. I still can’t believe that I won the Tour de Romandie, and now I’ve won a stage of the Giro. I have many emotions, and I’m very happy."

Zakarin, who came into the Giro d’Italia surrounded in hype following his Tour de Romandie victory was part of a break that moved clear following the first intermediate sprint. The move contained riders including Ryder Hesjedal (Cannondale-Garmin) and Stage 9 winner Beñat Intxausti (Movistar). Zakarin outwitted his more experienced companions, riding off the front with 20 kilometres still remaining.

Few would have given Zakarin’s chances of making it to the finish credence but the Russian made the most of the descents to pull out the crucial advantage. Behind him, the chasers each tried their own move but none could shut down the Katusha rider.

Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) maintained his lead in the overall classification, putting in a small dig on the final climb to test his rivals.

How it happened

After days of sunshine, the weather turned and the rain began to fall over the riders on stage 11, from Frolì to Imola. The talk of the town was of Richie Porte’s (Team Sky) two-minute penalty after he accepted a new wheel from Simon Clarke (Orica-GreenEdge) on stage 10. The result was that Porte started the day 3:09 back on Contador.

The attacks came as soon as the flag dropped but with an intermediate sprint just 7.6 kilometres into the day, there were several teams interested in keeping it together. Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek Factory Racing) beat Elia Viviani (Team Sky) to the top points with red jersey wearer, and yesterday’s stage winner, Nicola Boem (Bardiani-CSF) in third.

A group of four made it clear but they were held at close quarters, allowing more riders to come across to the gap to boost the break’s number to 10. The men out front were: Carlos Betancur, Matteo Montaguti (Ag2r La Mondiale), Franco Pellizotti (Androni - Sidermec), Diego Rosa (Astana), Marek Rutkiewicz (CCC Sprandi), Beñat Intxausti, Ruben Fernandez (Movistar), Ryder Hesjedal (Cannondale - Garmin), Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha) and Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL - Jumbo).

After making a mistake on stage 10, the peloton were wary of giving the break too much space. The break were only allowed to take 3:48 on the main group, with BMC doing the majority of the chasing. The American team were working for Philippe Gilbert (BMC).

The weather took its toll on the peloton with splits and crashes in abundance. One of the men to hit the deck was escapee Betancur, who took a hefty blow to his right side, as did Luca Paolini (Katusha). Betancur had to drop back for medical assistance but made it back into the breakaway. Splits caught a number of riders out too, with the peloton breaking into three separate groups.

There was no interest in waiting for those unlucky enough to miss the cut and the pace was upped by BMC and the GC teams. As the peloton entered the finishing circuit around the Imola motorsport track at 45 kilometres to go the advantage had been cut to just 57 seconds. At the front the pace was felt by many, with Fernandez, Rutkiewicz and Montaguti distanced.

With just over 30 kilometres remaining, BMC tried to take the pressure off by sending Stefan Küng up the road. With the Swiss rider on the attack, the team were able to sit back and let Orica-GreenEdge take up the pace setting. Küng put in a valiant effort but couldn’t reduce the gap to below a minute and eventually eased back into the clutches of the bunch.

Seven men remained out front with 24 kilometres remaining but they knew that their time was numbered. Zakarin was the first of the escapees to blink, striking out as they approached the penultimate climb of the day. Taking risks on the slippery descent, the recent Tour de Romandie winner pulled out 20 seconds on his former companions. On the penultimate crossing of the line, Zakarin has built that lead up to 40 seconds over the five chasers.

The rain became heavier as the stage reached its conclusion and back in the peloton Rigoberto Urán (Etixx-QuickStep) found his day took an unexpected turn. After appearing to connect wheels with another rider, the Colombian hit the deck in the finishing straight. A couple of his teammates hung back to help, but Urán blasted past them and made it back to the main group with 11 kilometres still remaining.

The three Orica-GreenEdge riders at the head of the peloton appeared unable to cut the gap to Zakarin, and Tinkoff-Saxo and Astana decided to take over with well over a minute to the Katusha rider. Not content with just riding home behind the break, Contador attacked on the final ascent of Tre Monte. The attack put his rival Aru in trouble as he tried and failed to close the gap. Contador was brought back but only after getting a mental advantage over his rivals.

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