Watch: The battle up the brutally steep final kilometre of Giro d’Italia stage 11

Stage 11 of the 2021 Giro d’Italia was exciting and memorable. With nearly 2,500m of elevation over 162km and four unpaved road segments totalling 35 km through the final 70km of the route, viewers and riders both knew going into the day that the stage would be eventful.

Starting in Perugia and riding on the Tuscan sterrato to Montalcino, Swiss rider Mauro Schmid of Team Qhubeka Assos was the winner of the dusty stage after a 200m final sprint up the 10 per cent gradient of the final climb. Alessandro Covi of UAE Team Emirates finished a close second.

In the GC rankings, things were shaken up a bit. Egan Bernal was able to hang on to the maglia rosa, but Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck-QuickStep), second overall at the start of the day, had a very hard time with the stage. On the third sector, with 25km remaining, Evenpoel was dropped and ripped his earpiece out in frustration. He gained back some time on the final sector but ultimately finished 26th. Dan Martin of Israel Start-Up Nation and Davide Formolo of UAE Team Emirates lost contact on the first sector and were not seen again. Both finished more than six minutes down on Bernal’s time.

“I love the gravel roads”

The stage win was 21-year-old Schmid’s first professional victory. “I can’t believe it because I only came into the Giro team about two weeks before it started,” he said. “My preparation was quite good, but I was never at the beginning of the season thinking about doing a Grand Tour.

“To be honest, in the last 10 days I suffered so much that I nearly couldn’t follow sometimes. Today I knew I had to go into the break because I love Strade Bianche, I love the gravel roads. When I was in the break, I felt I had great legs. I recovered very well during the rest day.

“I knew Covi was really strong. He nearly dropped me on the climb, but I knew I had to stay in his wheel. I didn’t know if the guys behind were close or far. Then I tried to not pull anymore and wait for the sprint and try my best. When I saw the finish, I didn’t feel my legs anymore and just went for the line.”