Daniel Martínez wins another battle against Geraint Thomas in the tough mountain of the Giro d’Italia

XAndrea will come to me won this Friday in stage 19 ofhe Giro d’Italia, in which Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates) maintained the lead and Daniel Martinez (Bora) remains second in front of the stalking of Geraint Thomas (Ineos), after the fraction between Mortegliano and Sappada, of 157 kilometers.

Bad weather

Einer Rubio (Movistar) He was another of those who defended eighth position on a day in which it was confirmed that the cyclists’ strength was undermined.

The group of escapees included Julian Alaphilippe, Andrea Vendrame, Jonathan Narváez, Pelayo Sánchez, Jan Tratnik, Kluke Plapp, among others, who had a 15-minute advantage over the main group.

When they entered the last 20 kilometers it was known that the victory of the day was ahead, while the peloton remained calm. A mountainous stage at the end allowed Vendrame to launch the attack and go solo.

The stage was difficult, as there were several mountain passes, which were devoured by the riders of the breakaway, with the best dividends being Vendrame (29 years old), who took his breakaway companions off the wheel and went in search of victory. It is the second victory of the team runner decathlon in the history of the Giro.

It was a fraction for the brilliance of the men of the breakaway, while in the fight for the general there were emotions. At this point in the race, with three days to go, maintaining your place in the standings is the most important thing.

A strong attack is synonymous with dying in the attempt and everything that has been done at this stage of the competition could be lost.

Daniel Martínez defended second place, he does not have to attack, although he has a lead of 22 seconds over the Welsh runner, so the idea is to maintain that margin with a view to what is missing.

Rubio moved at the end in search of making more differences, a movement that left his victims like Nairo Quintana.

Six kilometers away, Thomas fell, in a part where the ground was wet, but the lot did not press the accelerator. Quintana after the group break, arrived at the main lot.

This Saturday, a very complicated day. Alpago and Bassano del Grappa, of 184 kilometers, with a double ascent to the Mount Grappa, of 18 kilometers of ascent, with average slopes of eight percent and maximum slopes of 14 percent, in which the idea is not to explode and maintain their positions in the general classification.