Giro d'Italia: Formolo takes solo win on stage 4 in La Spezia

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Davide Formolo came of age on stage 4 of the Giro d’Italia with a dramatic win in La Spezia. The young 22-year-old Italian, making his Grand Tour debut for Cannondale-Garmin, attacked from the day’s early break just before the foot of the final climb before a breakneck descent into the finish to claim his first professional win.

Formolo’s win was just one of many intriguing sub plots on a day that saw Michael Matthews (Orica-GreenEdge) lose his maglia rosa, Alberto Contador (Tinkoff Saxo), Fabio Aru (Astana) and Richie Porte (Team Sky) go head-to-head and Simon Clarke (Orica-GreenEdge) move into the leader’s jersey.

"It feels amazing to win," said Formolo. “I’m 22-years-old, and I’ve dreamed of this for 22 years.

"It was a really hard day because it always up and down and never flat," added Formolo. "The break always rode very hard except on the descents. It was a very difficult day, but I am so happy with the results for myself and the team."

The stage, however, belonged to Formolo who showed guile and strength with a performance well beyond his years. After a disastrous start to their season, Cannondale-Garmin finally have a major win, and in Formolo, a rider of not just promise but genuine substance.

The Italian formed part of a huge break in the first hour of action when he and Tom Danielson (Cannondale-Garmin) joined a number of attacking moves. By the time the merger of moves came around, 30 riders had made the split – enough to put serious pressure on the main field and ask difficult questions of those leading the chase.

Not that those questions were any of Formolo’s concern as he continued to tap out a steady rhythm in the companionships of teammate Danielson, Franco Pellizotti (Androni Giocattoli), Simon Clarke (Orica-GreenEdge), Amaël Moinard (BMC), Andrey Zeits (Astana), Arnaud Courteille (FDJ), Chad Haga (Giant-Alpecin), Matteo Montaguti (AG2R-La Mondiale), Martijn Keizer (LottoNL-Jumbo), Sonny Colbrelli (Bardiani-CSF), Mauro Finetto (Southeast), Tsgabu Grmay (Lampre-Merida), Andrey Amador (Movistar), Yonathan Mosalve (Southeast). Roman Kreuziger (Tinkoff-Saxo), Darwin Atapuma (BMC), Davide Malacarne (Astana), Eduard Michael Grosu (Nippo-Vini Fantini), Salvatore Puccio (Team Sky), Kanstantsin Siutsou (Team Sky), Esteban Chaves (Orica-GreenEdge), Sylvester Szmyd (CCC Sprandi), Simone Stortoni (Androni Giocattoli), Pavel Kochetkov (Katusha), Pieter Weening (Orica-GreenEdge), Eduardo Zardini (Bardiani CSF) and Maxime Monfort (Lotto-Soudal).

Kreuziger’s presence in the break should have caused an immediate response but the peloton were unwilling to rise to the early bait and despite a number of passengers the break quickly established an advantage of 10 minutes as they sauntered into more difficult terrain.

Eventually Astana and Etixx-QuickStep responded, sending men to the front as the break soared towards the lower slopes of the Passo del Termine.

Pellizotti and Montaguti were the first to try their luck and with a shade over 60 kilometres to go the assault still held well over six minutes on the peloton.

It was Astana, though, that turned the screw as the gradient began to bite with Aru’s ensemble muscling their way to the front and dictating a pace that decimated the peloton.

Michael Matthews grimly held on for as long as he could but the Australian was unable to remain in contact when Astana accelerated for a second time. He wasn’t the only one to find himself in trouble. Rigoberto Uran was without a teammate – a situation that will keep him awake at night, while Alberto Contador saw his squadron reduced to just Michael Rogers. After three days of potential bluffing from Tinkoff-Saxo, Astana’s roar was as definitive as it was destructive.

Passo del Termine

The Passo del Termine was beginning to change the landscape of the race for every pocket of riders as they struggled towards the summit. The break split in several directions with Formolo, Monfort, Puccio, Amador, and Zeits among the strongest. 

The peloton was reduced even further with Ryder Hesjedal falling off the back.

On the descent, and with Astana having effectively cut the gap in half to a more manageable five minutes, the front group began to swell, with more riders able to latch onto the leaders’ coattails.

Simon Clarke, Orica’s last bastion of hope for the stage and the maglia rosa, had been dropped initially but he cut through the descent with deft touch and poise, and later regained contact with the group.

By the time the leaders found themselves in the valley before the climb, they had three minutes with Astana still in hot pursuit. If the Kazakh team had been impressive on the uphill they were simply majestic on the descent, a measure of speed backed up the fact that so few riders were able to make contact from that point onwards.

The stage and the maglia rosa were still available to play for, and Formolo made his move. His chances of slipping into pink were slim and not the objective as he rose from the saddle and immediately distanced his rivals.

Visconti - a man who himself was once tipped as the future of Italian cycling - joined forces with Moinard but the pair were unable to make inroads into the Cannondale-Garmin rider’s growing advantage.

Astana weren’t letting up. As they hit the final climb of Biassa, Aru still had four men at the front of the vastly reduced peloton. Contador locked himself onto the Italian’s wheel and it proved a wise decision when Aru pushed clear with a shade over 10 kilometres remaining. Porte was able to match the pair but Uran was found wanting.

The trio made their way towards the remnants of the break and for all of Astana’s might and gusto they had merely evened out the odds with Aru linking up with Cataldo, and Contador with Kreuziger. Nevertheless their efforts were impressive.

The battle raged behind Formolo, dived towards the finish. Visconti and Moinard were unable to hold off the chase group that contained the GC favourites and the survivors from the early break. It was Clarke who crossed the line 22 seconds after the stage winner.

On a day that conjured up so many surprises there was room for one more, with the Australian raising his arms in victory having been unaware of Formolo’s escape. However, in the Giro there’s no better consolation than the maglia rosa.

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