Italian victory in the nineteenth stage of the Giro d’Italia. After 157 kilometers from Mortegliano to Sappada it was Andrea Vendrame (Decathlon AG2R La Difesa Team) who raised his hands and won alone in Sappada, obtaining his second victory in the Giro, three years after the triumph in Bagno di Romagna. This is the second success for the Decathlon AG2R La World Team in this Giro d’Italia 2024 after the victory of Valentin Paret-Peintr in Bocca della Selva at the beginning of the second week. As expected, the race which took place Friuli-Venezia -Giulia was characterized by a long breakaway of nineteen riders that took more than 60 kilometers to form, Andrea Vendrame gave just over 50 seconds to the second-placed Spaniard Pelayo Sanchez (Movistar Team). Then came the German Georg Steinhauser (EF Education-EasyPost), already a stage winner in this Giro, third place (+1’07”). Jhonatan Narvaez (Ecuador, INEOS Grenadiers) and Luke Plapp (Australia, Team Jayco AlUla) completed the top 5 of this 19th stage.
Always present in the three weeks of the race, Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step) still on the attack today, arriving in ninth position (+ 2’30”). The pink jersey group gave 16 minutes to Andrea Vendrame.
After witnessing a real fight in the first half of the stage, in the end it was nineteen riders who recovered the day’s breakaway, Jhonatan Narvaez (INEOS Grenadiers), Quinten Hermans (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Simone Velasco (Astana Qazaqstan Team), Andrea Vendrame (Decathlon AG2R La Difesa Team), Mikkel Honoré, Georg Steinhauser, Michael Valgren (EF Education – EasyPost), Enzo Paleni (Groupama-FDJ), Dries De Pooter (Intermarché-Wanty), Jasper Stuyven, Edward Theuns (Lidl- Trek), Pelayo Sanchez (Movistar Team), Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step), Alessandro De Marchi, Luke Plapp (Team Jayco AlUla), Mattia Bais (Team Polti Kometa), Jan Tratnik, Attila Valter (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) and Manuele Tarozzi (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè) who the group lets go. At the foot of the very steep Passo Duron (4.4 km at 9.6%), with Tarozzi having already started, Julian Alaphilippe accelerates. Only Georg Steinhauser and Jhonatan Narvaez managed to accompany the Frenchman, these three runners. The Italian resists up to 2.5 kilometers from the summit, then has to let his opponents go. The three are joined by Pelayo Sanchez and Quinten Hermans. These five men pass the summit together, while Andrea Vendrame is a few steps away from this group. Downhill to Vendrame just a few bends are enough to return. And so there are six of us in the lead with 50 miles to go.
With the arrival of the rain, Andrea Vendrame sets off alone for the descent from Selle Valcalda and is almost 1 minute ahead of his pursuers. The Italian attacks the last difficulty of the day, the Cima Sappada (8.3 km at 4.8%). The first kilometers of the climb go very well for the leader who doesn’t lose anything on the Alaphilippe group. Georg Steinhauser and Pelayo Sanchez finally manage to escape from this group, but Vendrame is very strong and continues to increase the gap which reaches 1’05” on the German and the Spaniard at the summit of Cima Sappada, located just 7 kilometers from the finish line. Andrea Vendrame then controls his forces and goes on to achieve his second success on the roads of the Giro d’Italia
