May 29/16 10:40 am - Giro d'Italia: Stage 21

Posted by Editoress on 05/29/16
 

Second Giro d’Italia win for Vincenzo Nibali

 Nikias Arndt declared winner of final stage after Giacomo Nizzolo is relegated by the jury

The day after he conquered the Maglia Rosa in Sant'Anna di Vinadio, Vincenzo Nibali became the overall winner of the 99th Giro d’Italia in Turin. It is his second Giro d'Italia win, the first coming in 2013. Points classification winner Giacomo Nizzolo crossed the finishing line in first position but he was relegated to last in his group because of irregular sprinting. Nikias Arndt subsequently added his name to the list of Giro d’Italia stage winners.

Giro d’Italia winner, Vincenzo Nibali: “I had a stomach bug during the Giro but it’s better not to tell everything sometimes. The last rest day allowed me to get better. I never said that I wanted to go home. I always remained in the high part of the classification. Steven Kruijswijk had a good advantage after the Dolomites but I knew the highest mountains were yet to come. Riding above 2000 metres isn’t easy for anyone but I found myself in good shape. Kruijswijk crashed but towards the summit of the Colle d’Agnello, I noticed he was breathing heavily so I put pressure on him climbing and then descending. Had I not done so, probably nothing would have happened and [Esteban] Chaves would have had an easy ride as well. Everyone was watching me and I wasn’t used to race guys like [Tom] Dumoulin, Chaves and Kruijswijk. I don’t often look at my palmarès but when I do, I realize it’s rich of great successes".

Stage winner, Nikias Arndt: “I saw the sprint from my side of the road, which was the other side from [Giacomo] Nizzolo and [Sacha] Modolo. It was nervous in the last kilometer. It was hectic through the corners but I just focused on myself. I crossed the line in second position. Afterwards it turned out that I won the stage. It was a surprise for me. The jury took its decision, it was a difficult one to take for sure. This is the biggest result of my career so far. I came here to go for the sprints and to win a stage. I had two good results before today but the win was missing. I can imagine Nizzolo is very disappointed but I hope he can enjoy the Maglia Rosa. He has had a good Giro”.

Jerseys

    Maglia Rosa (pink), General Classification, sponsored by Enel - Vincenzo Nibali (Astana Pro Team)
    Maglia Rossa (red), Sprint Classification, sponsored by Algida - Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek - Segafredo)
    Maglia Azzurra (blue), Mountains Classification, sponsored by Banca Mediolanum - Mikel Nieve (Team Sky)
    Maglia Bianca (white), Young Rider Classification, sponsored by Eurospin - Bob Jungels (Etixx – Quick-Step)


Stats

•    First win at the Giro d’Italia for Nikias Arndt. Nizzolo’s relegation changes the stage wins tally: 7 for Germany, 6 for Italy. All 7 German wins came in flat stages and/or bunch sprints, while all 6 Italian successes came at the end of lumpy or mountainous courses
•    33rd stage win for Germany at the Giro d’Italia. 21 of them took place this century
•    Second overall win for Vincenzo Nibali at the Giro d’Italia after 2013. This is his fourth victory in Grand Tours and his eighth podium
•    Nibali counts 21 days in the Maglia Rosa, the same as Gianni Bugno and Tony Rominger, who both collected all of them in one Giro, in 1990 and 1995 respectively
•    Since 2013, Astana has won a Grand Tour every year with an Italian rider: Giro 2013 and 2016 with Nibali, Tour 2014 with Nibali, Vuelta 2015 with Aru
•    Esteban Chaves is the third Colombian to make the final podium of the Giro after Nairo Quintana who won it in 2014 and Rigoberto Urán who came second in 2013 and 2014. The first Colombian to take part in the Giro was Martin Emilio “Cochise” Rodriguez in 1973

Results