Omar Fraile (Dimension Data) won the 11th stage of the Giro d’Italia in Bagno Di Romagna, though Tom Dumoulin clung to his overall lead despite several attacks from his rivals today.
Amid a group of four breakaway riders, Fraile outsprinted former world champion Rui Costa (UAE Team Emirates) and Pierre Rolland (Cannondale-Drapac) to take his first victory in a major three-week race.
Dumoulin remains 2:23 ahead of Nairo Quintana and 2:38 ahead of Bauke Mollema in the overall standings.
Fraile, who rides for Team Dimension Data, first got into an attack with Mikel Landa, then dropped back to a chase group, before attacking again on the last of four climbs across the Apennine Range.
“I had noted that this stage suited me very well,” Fraile said. “I went on the attack early and went with Landa because we knew we could gain some ground. When they came back up to us, I marked Rui Costa because he’s fast but I was even faster today.”
A series of attacks meant Dumoulin’s Team Sunweb had to work hard to stay with the other favorites.
“We expected a really hard fight today and it was,” Dumoulin said. “I can only thank my team. They did an amazing job.”
“We were not scared of Amador or the Astana riders,” Dumoulin said. “We were doing our own pace. We knew other teams would also ride behind them so we never considered giving away the Maglia Rosa (pink jersey). It was an amazing teamwork and we are really happy.”
Thursday’s Stage 12 is a lengthy 229-kilometer (142-mile) leg from Forli to Reggio Emilia featuring two minor climbs and a flat finish that should set up well for sprinters.
Giro d’Italia 2017 – stage 11 results (Firenze – Bagno di Romagna):
| 1 | Omar Fraile (Dimension Data) | 4:23:14 |
| 2 | Rui Costa (UAE Team Emirates) | ,, |
| 3 | Pierre Rolland (Cannondale-Drapac) | ,, |
| 4 | Tanel Kangert (Astana) | ,, |
| 5 | Giovanni Visconti (Bahrain Merida) | ,, |
| 6 | Ben Hermans (BMC) | ,, |
| 7 | Dario Cataldo (Astana) | ,, |
| 8 | Simone Petilli (UAE Team Emirates) | ,, |
| 9 | Maxime Monfort (Lotto Soudal) | +03” |
| 10 | Laurens De Plus (Quick-Step Floors) | ,, |
| 11 | Andrey Amador (Movistar) | ,, |
| 12 | Hubert Dupont (AG2R) | ,, |
| 13 | Ruben Plaza (Orica-Scott) | +01’37” |
| 14 | Sebastien Reichenbach (FDJ) | ,, |
| 15 | Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R) | ,, |
| 16 | Matteo Montaguti (AG2R) | ,, |
| 17 | Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin) | ,, |
| 18 | Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) | ,, |
| 19 | Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) | ,, |
| 20 | Nairo Quintana (Movistar) | ,, |
General classification after stage 11:
| 1 | Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) | 47:22:07 |
| 2 | Nairo Quintana (Movistar) | +02’23” |
| 3 | Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) | +02’38” |
| 4 | Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) | +02’40” |
| 5 | Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain Merida) | +02’47” |
| 6 | Andrey Amador (Movistar) | +03’05” |
| 7 | Bob Jungels (Quick-Step Floors) | +03’56” |
| 8 | Tanel Kangert (Astana) | +03’59” |
| 9 | Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R) | +04’05” |
| 10 | Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin) | +04’17” |
| 11 | Dario Cataldo (Astana) | +05’19” |
| 12 | Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNl-Jumbo) | +06’07” |
| 13 | Davide Formolo (Cannondale-Drapac) | +06’19” |
| 14 | Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) | +06’21” |
| 15 | Rui Costa (UAE Team Emirates) | +06’29” |
| 16 | Adam Yates (Orica-Scott) | +06’58” |
| 17 | Maxime Monfort (Lotto Soudal) | +07’22” |
| 18 | Jan Polanc (UAE Team Emirates) | +07’39” |
| 19 | Ben Hermans (BMC) | +08’12” |
| 20 | Simone Petilli (UAE Team Emirates) | +13’23” |
