2021 Giro d’Italia stage 18: Alberto Bettiol rides solo to longest stage win

Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-Nippo) launched a successful solo attack some seven kilometers to go on stage 18 of the 2021 Giro d’Italia.

This is Bettiol’s third professional win — which includes the 2019 Ronde van Vlaanderen— but his first on home soil and his first grand tour stage win.

“It was a really emotional stage, it was a really hard stage,” said Bettiol. “It was really warm, finally, because it’s been a really tough, and a really cold Giro. Finally, the sun comes out.”

“It’s always an honor as an Italian when you are selected to do the Giro. This year I would love to win a stage. I will look for opportunities to be in the breakaway and for stage wins.” – @AlbertoBettiol before the Giro.

Now he's a proud stage winner. BIG congrats to Bettiol. pic.twitter.com/rpuJGrGY4J

— EF Pro Cycling (@EFprocycling) May 27, 2021

At 231 kilometers the route from Rovereto to Stradella is the longest stage of the 2021 Giro. The final 40km was capped with four short, punchy climbs after a mostly-flat route after the initial 78km.

From the front of a break which was 23-strong, Bettiol countered a move initiated by Remi Cavagna (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) which looked promising for a stage win. But the French time trial expert was brought back after a 13km solo escapade by the chasing Bettiol and Nicolas Roche (Team DSM).

Some twenty minutes behind the finishers, the pace on the main peloton was piano, with Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) surrounded by teammates to offer shelter to the Colombian wearing the maglia rosa.

How it happened

On what amounted to nearly a mostly flat stage, a break of nearly two dozen built an insurmountable advantage by the time they covered the lumpy first third of the stage.

With 90km to go, a 12-minute gap separated the group on the front from the main bunch, with the maglia rosa safely tucked behind teammates.

This gap stretched out to 15 minutes, then 18 minutes, as the front of the race was inside of 40km to go.

Into the first of four climbs, several attackers tried their luck from the front of the break, but it was not until six riders — including Bettiol and Cavagna — got away that the finale of the stage was formed.

Gorka Izagirre (Astana-Premier Tech) tried his hand at a solo move, as did Dario Cataldo (Movistar Team), but neither were able to get away from the front, now 12 seconds away from the remains of the break.

Cavagna put in a massive push and surprised the bunch. He separated himself from the rest by 12 seconds in one kilometer. The time trial expert looked good for a stage win as he topped the next two climbs, as behind him Roche and then Bettiol gave chase. Cavagna built his lead to nearly half a minute into the final climb.

And then, riding uphill into a headwind, Cavagana started to run out of steam. Roche had pulled back all but 12 seconds on Cavagana, when Bettiol passed the Irishman and never looked back at 10km to go.

Bettiol passed Cavagna 2,800m later, breaking the “Wolfpack” rider who gritted his teeth and nearly stopped pedaling when Bettiol passed him.

https://twitter.com/EFprocycling/status/1397926778316808195

By the bottom of the descent, Bettiol had built an 18-second margin, and the stage was all but his to lose.

Behind stage winner Bettiol, Simone Consonni (Cofidis) had made up the gap to the fading Roche and passed him with just 500m to go.

Some 23 and a half minutes later, race-leader Bernal came through the finish, expending as little effort as possible over the previous 5 and three-quarters hours.

“It’s difficult to know because it was really fast but I was in the wheels so it was a bit easier,” Bernal said. “I felt much better than yesterday on the bike. I hope tomorrow will be another good day.”

Bernal continued, “It’s something special, but the most important is to arrive in the maglia in the final stage.”

What’s to come

Friday’s stage 19 has been rerouted to avoid the ascent of Mottarone out of respect to those grieving following the tragic deaths of 14 in a cable-car disaster earlier in the week.

The abridged 166km route travels between Abbiategrasso and Alpe di Mera, and ends with a 9.7km climb on a slope averaging nine percent.