Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) launched a stinging attack in the final phase to extend his lead in the overall classification and win the 11th stage of Giro d’Italia on Wednesday.
Yates acted with a burst in the final 1.5 kilometres to finish two seconds ahead of Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb), while Davide Formolo (Bora–hansgrohe) finished third.
The British rider stretched his advantage to 47 seconds over Dumoulin in the overall classification. Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) retained his third place but now trails the race leader by one minute and four seconds.
Chris Froome crossed the line 40 seconds behind Yates at 23rd spot to drop out of top 10 in the overall standings. The four-time Tour de France winner now trails his fellow Briton by three minutes and 20 seconds as his hopes of winning the race continue to fade.
“We decided before the stage that we wouldn’t chase for the stage, because normally in a finish like that there are some faster guys who have won before me,” Yates said.
“That also proved true – the guys like Tim Wellens and Lotto-Jumbo they came to the front to chase. They were obviously confident for the finish. That wasn’t plan, but if it came back I would of course try.
“I’d prefer to be getting more time on Tom. He was really chasing me all the way to the finish there. He looks better than the other day on the steep finishes there. I think he’s getting better as the race goes on, and that’s not good news for me.”
Giro d’Italia 2018 – stage 11 results (Assisi – Osimo):
| 1 | Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) | 3:25:53 |
| 2 | Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) | +02” |
| 3 | Davide Formolo (Bora-hansgrohe) | +05” |
| 4 | Alexandre Geniez (AG2R La Mondiale) | +08” |
| 5 | Domenico Pozzovivo (Bahrain-Merida) | ,, |
| 6 | Patrick Konrad (Bora-hansgrohe) | ,, |
| 7 | Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) | ,, |
| 8 | Maximilian Schachmann (Quick-Step Floors) | +11” |
| 9 | Rohan Dennis (BMC) | +18” |
| 10 | Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) | +21” |
| 11 | Richard Carapaz (Movistar) | +23” |
| 12 | George Bennett (LottoNL-Jumbo) | ,, |
| 13 | Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates) | +26” |
| 14 | Carlos Betancur (Movistar) | +30” |
| 15 | Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) | ,, |
| 16 | Tim Wellens (Lotto Fix All) | +33” |
| 17 | Sam Oomen (Team Sunweb) | ,, |
| 18 | Enrico Battaglin (LottoNL-Jumbo) | +36” |
| 19 | José Gonçalves (Katusha-Alpecin) | ,, |
| 20 | Pello Bilbao (Astana) | ,, |
General classification after stage 11:
| 1 | Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) | 47:08:21 |
| 2 | Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) | +47” |
| 3 | Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) | +01’04” |
| 4 | Domenico Pozzovivo (Bahrain-Merida) | +01’18” |
| 5 | Richard Carapaz (Movistar) | +01’56” |
| 6 | George Bennett (LottoNL-Jumbo) | +02’09” |
| 7 | Rohan Dennis (BMC) | +02’36” |
| 8 | Pello Bilbao (Astana) | +02’54” |
| 9 | Patrick Konrad (Bora-hansgrohe) | +02’55” |
| 10 | Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) | +03’10” |
| 11 | Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) | +03’17” |
| 12 | Chris Froome (Team Sky) | +03’20” |
| 13 | Ben O’Connor (Dimension Data) | +03’25” |
| 14 | Carlos Betancur (Movistar) | +03’29” |
| 15 | Sam Oomen (Team Sunweb) | +03’40” |
| 16 | Michael Woods (EF Education First-Drapac) | +03’43” |
| 17 | Maximilian Schachmann (Quick-Step Floors) | +04’01” |
| 18 | Alexandre Geniez (AG2R La Mondiale) | +04’33” |
| 19 | Sergio Henao (Team Sky) | +05’08” |
| 20 | Jose Goncalves (Katusha-Alpecin) | +05’21” |
