Published on : 05/11/2022
The Italian rider, who was well placed at the flamme rouge thanks to Davide Cimolai, took the 10th place in the bunch sprint in Messina. The two men will have another opportunity to shine tomorrow with the 6th stage that should end in a sprint.
It was necessary to get back on the bike, to get back on the road despite everything. The day before and the ascent of Etna, as well as the tiredness accumulated with the transfer on Monday, weighed on the body. But a big Tour doesn't leave any respite and forces you to go back and to ride again.
Consonni-Cimolai, new attempt tomorrow
The last stage in Sicily, which was ridden under the sun on Wednesday, was not a very easy one. The Cofidis riders were especially careful to protect Guillaume Martin until the end, like Pierre-Luc Périchon. At the end of the stage, after the breakaway riders had been caught earlier in the day, the expected bunch sprint took place. Simone Consonni and Davide Cimolai were at the front of the peloton at the flamme rouge. Close to the line, Simone tried everything to get into the fight for the victory. He finally finished in 10th place, his second top 10 since the beginning of the Giro.
He will have another opportunity to shine tomorrow with a new stage for sprinters. As the peloton leaves Sicily, they will have 192 km to go between Palmi and Scalea before they will have to sprint again, for the 3rd time since the beginning of the Giro.
THEY SAID
Guillaume Martin: "I wanted to get back on track after yesterday's stage. We knew it would be faster in the middle of the race. I had good legs, even if it is difficult to judge them because the rhythm was not too fast. In the final part of the race, I didn't take any risks to avoid crashes. I thank Pierre-Luc for protecting me in the last kilometres. Tomorrow it should be another sprint before a more mountainous weekend where I hope to do some good performances."
Roberto Damiani, Directeur Sportif: "It was a stage in which we were able to stay around Guillaume in the tricky moments. At the end, Davide Cimolai tried to put Simone Consonni in the best possible conditions. Simone Consonni was able to make the sprint and take 10th place. Even if we could have hoped for better, he has the condition to compete with the best in the field"