Giro d’Italia 2017: Tom Dumoulin storms into race lead after stage ten time trial
Geraint Thomas finishes second to close back in on top-ten overall
Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) stormed to stage ten time trial success to claim the race lead, as Nairo Quintana – in the pink jersey – lost almost three minutes to the Dutchman.
Dumoulin, in the skinsuit of Dutch national champion, obliterated his rivals on the course as his steady rhythm saw him set a phenomenal pace.
Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) bounced back from his crash on stage nine, before the rest day, to finish second on the day – 49 seconds behind Dumoulin, but fast enough to close back in on the top ten overall.
Tom Dumoulin stormed to time trial victory on stage ten of the 2017 Giro d’Italia, and now leads overall by more than two minutes (pic – Sirotti)
Former race leader Bob Jungels (QuickStep Floors) finished third – the only other rider within a minute of Dumoulin – to reclaim the white jersey.
Dumoulin was simply in a world of his own on the course – as the third-last rider to set out on the 39.8km course from Foligno to Montefalco – comfortably going fastest through the time checks.
His average speed of 47.2km/h proved his form, having insisted he felt as though with more time to recon Blockhaus he would have been able to stick with Quintana on stage nine too.
The early pace had been set by former world time trial champion Vasil Kiryienka (Team Sky), but his time of 52.37 – while enough to take the provisional lead – would have been even faster had he not crashed on the final bend.
Belgian champion Victor Campenaerts was another early favourite for the stage, but his relaxed attitude was reflected in the fact he rolled down the starting ramp with his skinsuit unzipped, with a message daubed on his chest asking a girl for a date.
Geraint Thomas finished second behind Dumoulin, and is now just a few seconds outside the top ten (pic – Sirotti)
With work to be done for team leader Steven Kruijswijk, the stage was clearly not high on the LottoNL-Jumbo rider’s priority list.
Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) subsequently shaved 20 seconds off the mark, before Geraint Thomas attacked the course and rid fans of any lingering doubts about the shoulder injury he suffered on Sunday.
His time of 51.26 was pushed all the way by Bob Jungels, but the Luxembourg champion finished just seven seconds shy of Thomas’ time.
Adam Yates finished 17th, and is now 16th overall (pic – Sirotti)
As soon as Dumoulin hit the course, however, it was clear it would be him winning the stage as he proved the time trialling form which earned him a Tour de France stage win and an Olympic bronze medal last summer.
The only question was how much time he could put into Quintana, and it soon became obvious it would be a lot – the Colombian had already lost the provisional race lead by the first time check.
And the gap only continued to go out and out, as Dumoulin drove his advantage to build up a big overall lead.
Giro d’Italia 2017: stage ten (ITT) – result
1) Tom Dumoulin (NED) – Team Sunweb – 50.37
2) Geraint Thomas (GBR) – Team Sky +49”
3) Bob Jungels (LUX) – QuickStep Floors +56”
4) Luis Leon Sanchez (ESP) – Astana +1.40
5) Vasil Kiryienka (BLR) – Team Sky +2.00
6) Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) – Bahrain-Merida +2.07
7) Maxime Monfort (BEL) – Lotto-Soudal +2.13
8) Jan Tratnik (SVN) – CCC Sprandi-Polkowice – ST
9) Jos van Emden (NED) – LottoNL-Jumbo +2.15
10) Andrey Amador (CRC) – Movistar +2.16
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