Paul Magnier of Soudal Quick-Step completed a hat-trick of victories in this Giro d'Italia with a bunch sprint win on stage 18 in the Veneto town of Pieve di Soligo. The 22-year-old was perfectly set up by his teammate Jasper Stuyven in the final few high-speed turns and powered to the line after 171 kilometers of racing, ahead of two Italian sprinters.
Edoardo Zambanini (Bahrain Victorious) finished second, with Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) taking third on an undulating stage that began in Fai della Paganella in Trentino. Victory for Magnier, who also won the first and third stages, means he takes the lead in the points classification.
Vingegaard Maintains Overall Lead
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease A Bike), the overall race leader, attacked on the day's short sharp final climb inside the final 10 kilometers but settled for a place in the main bunch to preserve his big advantage. The Dane is attempting to complete the set of Grand Tour triumphs and leads Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) by 4 minutes and 3 seconds with three stages left.
Stage Action
The stage came alive after a four-man break of Mattia Bais, Andrea Mifsud (both Polti-VisitMalta), Jonas Geens (Alpecin-Premier Tech), and James Shaw (EF Education-EasyPost) was caught with around 25 kilometers to go. The 1.1-kilometer Il Muro di Ca' del Poggio ramp, with gradients of 19%, provided a sharp sting in the tail, and for a while it looked like Vingegaard might go for the stage win.
Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain Victorious), who recovered from a crash, also sensed an opportunity. But it was a day for the sprinters, and Soudal Quick-Step played the perfect hand as Stuyven led Magnier into the final tricky corner, giving his teammate the perfect line for his final burst of acceleration to the line.
“I had a lot of confidence this morning,” said Magnier, who also wore the race leader’s Maglia Rosa jersey after his earlier stage wins. “My teammates made it into a sprint, and I’m so happy to win. Jasper made an amazing lead-out.”
