Juan Pedro Lopez took the overall lead of the Giro d’Italia on Tuesday as Lennard Kamna won stage 4 after they nursed a large lead up a 23km climb to a summit finish on Mt Etna in Sicily.
You can rewatch STAGE 4 HERE
The two stars of the day had been part of a long-range breakaway that started the climb six minutes ahead of the chasers.
The overall favourites Richard Carapaz and Simon Yates whittled that lead down to just 2min 37sec as part of a group of the big guns including Romain Bardet and Mikel Landa.
Lopez of Trek-Segafredo now leads Kamna by 39s in the overall, with Yates fourth at 1min 42s.
“I don’t care how much my lead is, I just want to savour the moment,” Lopez said. “I don’t know how long I can keep it (the leader’s pink jersey),” he added.
This was the seventh time the Giro has climbed Etna and Kamna can add this famous victory to his mountain stage win on the Tour de France in 2020.
“Lopez had some kind of problem on the last corner and I just about got it. Now I can continue this Giro with confidence,” Kamna said.
Among the potential contenders for the overall title, the 2017 Giro winner Tom Dumoulin dropped time on the final climb as Ineos set a blistering pace up the 1,892m summit.
“I can’t explain it, but it was unpleasant to be alone on the climb,” said Dumoulin.
Another rider who failed to produce was Vincenzo Nibali, who was dropped in the final kilometres.
Overnight leader Mathieu van der Poel made no effort to defend his lead on the climb, but had earlier attempted a long range solo escape.
Miguel Angel Lopez withdrew early in the stage on a day marked by a motorbike crash that brought a clutch of riders tumbling to the tarmac.
Wednesday’s stage 5 is also in Sicily, running from Catania to Messina with a mountain to climb early on, making another escape a strong possibility.
