COGNE, Italy (AFP) – Escorted up three long climbs by his powerful Ineos Grenadiers team, Richard Carapaz shook off an early crash to hold onto the Giro d’Italia overall lead during his first day wearing the pink jersey.
Italian rider Giulio Ciccone got into an early breakaway then launched a solo attack on the finishing climb to win the 15th stage.
Carapaz, the Ecuadorian who took the lead a day earlier, remained seven seconds ahead of Jai Hindley and 30 seconds ahead of Joao Almeida.
Carapaz, the 2019 Giro champion and an Olympic gold medalist last year, was involved in a mass crash early on when he fell off of his bike onto the grass lining a flat road.
Carapaz said there was “no consequence at all” from the crash.
For his third career Giro victory after also winning stages in 2016 and 2019, Ciccone was cheered on by large crowds lining the cobblestoned streets in the finale. As is his tradition, Ciccone – who wore the yellow jersey for two stages during the 2019 Tour de France – threw his sunglasses into the crowd just before crossing the finish line.
Ciccone, who rides for the Trek-Segafredo team, clocked 4 hours, 37 minutes over the 178-kilometer (111-mile) leg from Rivarolo Canavese to Cogne in the northwestern Valle d’Aosta region.
The final climb to Cogne was a lengthy 22.2 kilometers (14 miles) but was steep only at the start and had an average gradient of just 4.3%. Requiring about an hour of climbing, it was still a challenge and when Ciccone attacked with 18.8 kilometers (12 miles) to go, his breakaway companions had no answer.