Home > News

Czech, mate: Jan Hirt wins his first Grand Tour stage on Giro mountain day

Hindley now three seconds behind pink jersey Carapaz

Photo by: Sirotti
May 24, 2022
Share on SMS

On the first day of the 105th Giro d’Italia’s final week, Czech rider Jan Hirt took his first Grand Tour win and Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert’s second of the race. Hirt rose to 9th in the GC. Richard Carapaz retained the pink jersey and there were only a few GC changes on the mountain stage.

The Course

Three Cat. 1 climbs were spread out evenly over 202 km, with Goletto di Cadino (19.2 km of 6.2 percent) up first, followed by the legendary Mortirolo (12.7 km of 7.7 percent), and then the final climb, Valico di Santa Cristina (12.7 km of 8.1 percent, the last half 10 percent), which peaked 6 km from the line in Aprica.

A profile like Tuesday’s was sure to elicit a large breakaway. Indeed, 20 riders broke free and started up Goletto di Cadino. The men highest on GC were Guillaume Martin and Alejandro Valverde. Also in the mix were double stage winner Simon Yates, Sunday’s winner Giulio Ciccone and KOM leader Koen Bouwman. Ciccone and Bouwman would throw down at the top. Ciccone took 40 points and Bouwman 18, which put the Italian 29 points behind the Dutchman.

Ineos was interested in keeping the breakaway within reach and the escape reached the foot of the Mortirolo with a 4:20 lead. Yates attacked in the valley before the foot of the climb and his action split the group; oddly, Yates wasn’t in the front part of the split, but Bouwman and Valverde were.

On Mortirolo, Astana grabbed the reins from Ineos.

A couple of others reached the front group, making an octet. Bouwman was there but Ciccone couldn’t make the connection. Bouwman crested first. Astana’s efforts finally split the peloton as it approached the peak, and then launched Vicenzo Nibali over the top. Nibali didn’t really push on and the pink jersey group swelled in the valley below.

There was an uncategorized, 5.1-km, 8.7-percent climb to Teglio between Mortirolo and Valico di Santa Cristina. The Bouwman-Valverde group, now a septet, hit it with a 4:00 gap over the closest chase and 5:20 in hand over the pink jersey group. Bouwman was the first to lose contact.

Bahrain-Merida took control of the favourites’ group and the gap started to shrink. On the descent of the Teglio climb this group sopped up all the remnants of the early breakaway.

Valico di Santa Cristina

Lennard Kämna decided to hit the final climb with a lead over his breakmates. The peloton was +3:15. Fugitive Wout Poels sat up and waited for his Bahrain-Victorious teammates.

Kämna went solo on the final climb.

Bahrain’s work popped Jai Hindley’s teammate Emanuel Buchmann from the peloton. The breakaway chasers started attacking in bids to bridge to Kämna.

On the second, harder half of the climb Thymen Arensman inched over to Kämna. Bahrain’s Pello Bilbao crashed in the peloton, slowing down Mikel Landa. Jan Hirt reached Arensman.

Finally, Landa attacked. Carapaz and Hindley were able to go with him. With 8.5 km to go Hirt and Arensman found Kämna. The duo immediately dropped Kämna.

Hindley and Carapaz both made surges as João Almeida tried to reach them. Up front, Hirt left Arensman behind and tipped over with a 15-second lead on Arensman and 1:30 on Carapaz, Hindley, Landa and Valverde.

The descent was sketchy because it was wet, so the main characters of Stage 16 all tiptoed down. Hindley claimed the last of the bonus seconds by coming third. Almeida only lost 14 seconds to Carapaz.

Wednesday is another day in the mountains, but another day without a proper summit finish.

2022 Giro d’Italia Stage 16
1) Jan Hirt (Czech Republic/Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) 5:40:45
2) Thymen Arensman (The Netherlands/DSM) +0:07
3) Jai Hindley (Australia/Bora-Hansgrohe) +1:24

2022 Giro d’Italia GC
1) Richard Carapaz (Ecuador/Ineos Grenadiers) 68:49:06
2) Jai Hindley (Australia/Bora-Hansgrohe) +0:03
3) João Almeida (Portugal/UAE-Emirates) +0:44
4) Mikel Landa (Spain/Bahrain-Victorious) +0:59
5) Vincenzo Nibali (Italy/Astana-Qazaqstan) +3:40