The third attack was the decisive one: Jonas Vingegaard flew away solo 4.4 km from the finish of an extremely long stage, the Formia-Blockhaus of 244 km. The Dane, the pre-race favorite and the most anticipated rider of the race, imposed his law on the most difficult section of the climb, dropping Giulio Pellizzari who had been the only one to stay on his wheel at the first acceleration, two kilometers earlier. 

After literally exploding the group thanks to the work of his teammates, Vingegaard demonstrated he is clearly the strongest rider in the Giro, capable of imposing an unsustainable pace for all his rivals on the first real climb of the Giro.

Felix Gall is the revelation of the day: the Austrian from Decathlon finished second, paying only 13 seconds to Vingegaard. Pellizzari, on the other hand, went into the red trying to keep pace with the Dane and then hit a crisis, eventually being caught by Hindley and O'Connor on whose wheels he managed to reach the finish line at 1'05".

The pink jersey Afonso Eulalio also tried to defend himself with courage, and along the way was able to take advantage of Damiano Caruso's experience, although he paid 2'54". The advantage he had this morning at Formia allowed him to keep the pink jersey. With him, besides Caruso, also Poels and Bernal, while Enric Mas's crisis was striking, struggling from the first kilometers of the final climb.

THE RACE. A highly anticipated stage, but also the longest of the Giro. From the moment the route was presented, the 244 km from Formia to Blockhaus appeared immediately decisive for the general classification. The famous Abruzzese climb is 13.6 km long, has an average gradient of 8.4%, but above all features sections that exceed 14%. However, a real unknown not to be underestimated was the weather: since this morning on the climb, gusts of wind exceeding 30 km/h were blowing. 

Within a handful of kilometers from the official start, a quintet formed at the front: Jardi Christiaan Van Der Lee (EF Education Easy Post), Nickolas Zukowsky (Pinarello Q36.5), Tim Naberman (Team Picnic PostNL), Diego Pablo Sevilla (Polti Visit Malta) and Jonathan Milan (Lidl Trek) who had the clear objective of securing important points at the Venafro intermediate sprint located 112 km after the finish. The group let them go and the breakaway advantage easily climbed above 6 minutes.

Team Bahrain Victorious and Team Visma Lease a Bike took responsibility for leading the chase. Meanwhile, Jonathan Milan passed first at the Venafro intermediate sprint and, having completed his mission of the day, as soon as the road started climbing he lost contact with the head of the race. The breakaway riders managed to maintain a good advantage over the peloton, but about 60 km from the finish Team Bahrain Victorious gave a sharp acceleration, getting dangerously close. 

As expected, the race heated up on the Blockhaus. Jardi Christiaan Van Der Lee and Nickolas Zukowsky, remaining alone at the front, tried to manage their advantage over the peloton, but it was an impossible task. The forcing by Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe first and then by Team Visma Lease a Bike exploded the pink jersey group and soon the general classification leader Afonso Eulalio also dropped back. 

Jonas Vingegaard launched his first attack 5.4 km from the finish and initially Giulio Pellizzari was the only one to resist the Dane's attacks, but the two-man battle lasted only one kilometer. The Team Visma Lease a Bike captain delivered the decisive blow 4.4 km from the finish and became unstoppable. If the young athlete from Camerino was a victim of going into the red, the same cannot be said of Felix Gall who, after an initial moment of difficulty, managed to climb steadily and close just 13" behind Vingegaard.

As predicted, the Blockhaus delivered its verdict and Vingegaard, the most anticipated rider of the Giro, secured his first victory in the pink race, but not the symbol of leadership. Afonso Eulalio, also thanks to the valuable help of Damiano Caruso, managed to defend his position in the general classification and is now leading with a 3'17" advantage over Vingegaard and 3'34" over Felix Gall. 

After today's difficult stage for the pink race, there will be no time to catch your breath. Tomorrow the Chieti-Fermo stage is raced, 156 km up and down the Fermo walls. In the last 60 km there are 4 categorized climbs and the finish is all uphill. It could be ideal terrain for the attackers. 

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FINISHING ORDER

1. Vingegaard Jonas (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) in 06:09:15
2. Gall Felix (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) + 13
3. Hindley Jai (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) + 01:02
4. Pellizzari Giulio (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) + 01:05
5. O'Connor Ben (Team Jayco-AlUla)
6. Rondel Mathys (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) + 01:29
7. Ciccone Giulio (Lidl-Trek) + 01:40
8. Gee-West Derek (Lidl-Trek) + 01:42
9. Storer Michael (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) + 01:44
10. Arensman Thymen (Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team)

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

1  Eulalio Afonso Bahrain Victorious 30:59:23

2  Vingegaard Jonas Team Visma | Lease a Bike + 03:17

3  Gall Felix Decathlon CMA CGM Team + 03:34

4  Hindley Jai Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe + 04:25

5  Pellizzari Giulio Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe + 04:28

6  O'Connor Ben Team Jayco-AlUla + 04:32

7  Rondel Mathys Tudor Pro Cycling Team + 04:56

8  Ciccone Giulio Lidl-Trek + 04:57

9  Arensman Thymen Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team + 05:07

10 Storer Michael Tudor Pro Cycling Team + 05:11