Remco Evenepoel won Stage 9 ITT to take the Maglia Rosa but Geraint Thomas, Tao Geoghegan Hart and Stefan Küng were within four seconds of the Belgian.
STAGE RESULTS
1 – Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) – 35 km in 41’24″, average speed 50.725 km/h
2 – Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) at 1″
3 – Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers) at 2″.
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1 – Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step)
2 – Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) at 45″
3 – Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) at 47″
4 – Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers) at 50″
5 – João Pedro Gonçalves Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) at 1’07”
Cesena (Technogym Village), 14 May 2023 – Remco Evenepoel claimed his second individual time trial victory of the Giro but the finish could not be much tighter with Geraint Thomas (1’’), Tao Geoghegan Hart (2’’) and Stefan Küng (4’’) breathing down his neck at the end.
The Belgian started strongly but weakened towards the end of the 35km course. He moved back in the Maglia Rosa with an advantage of 45’’ over Thomas, 47’’ over Primoz Roglic and 50’’ over Geoghegan Hart, making it a top 4 of only Grand Tour overall winners before the first rest day. Previous leader Andreas Leknessund now sits in sixth position with a deficit of 1’07’’.
“What made things even more special was that I did it on Mother’s Day and my whole family here. It was nice to get their support and see them at the finish. It wasn’t easy today with the rain and the cold temperatures, but I’m happy I could pull it off”, said Evenepoel, the only rider with two victories so far at this Giro, after retaking the maglia rosa.
“In the first part of the time trial I paced myself a bit too hard, and then, in the headwind, my legs didn’t turn as fast as in those opening kilometers. I could also feel the damage from the crashes of this week, and in the end it was quite tight, but I’m delighted I could prevail and claim this beautiful pink jersey. It’s nice to have an advantage in the GC before the mountains and I will try to enjoy every moment in the maglia rosa, but for the moment I’m looking forward to recovering on the first rest day before seeing what the next stages have in store”, added Remco, the first Belgian rider in 22 years to amass four days as leader of the Corsa Rosa.
THE OFFICIAL JERSEYS
The leader jerseys of the Giro d’Italia are designed by CASTELLI and produced with SITIP recycled fabrics.
- Maglia Rosa, leader of the General Classification, sponsored by Enel – Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step)
- Maglia Ciclamino, leader of the Points Classification, sponsored by Agenzia ICE with the brand Madeinitaly.gov.it – Jonathan Milan (Bahrain – Victorious)
- Maglia Azzurra, leader of the Gran Premio della Montagna, sponsored by Banca Mediolanum – Davide Bais (Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team)
- Maglia Bianca, Best Young Rider, sponsored by Intimissimi Uomo – Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) – worn by Andreas Leknessund (Team DSM)
Stage Results & GC
Full results here: Stage 9