TREVISO, ITALY – TREVISO, ITALY – Dries De Bondt of Belgium completed a four-person race to win the final flat stage of the Giro d'Italia, which appears to be settled on the last day.
Richard Carapaz, the 2019 winner and gold medallist at the Tokyo Olympics, retained a three-second lead over Australia's Jai Hindley, who finished second in 2020.
Hindley sustained a tire puncture in the finale three kilometres of the stage, which was neutralized, indicating that he was awarded the same finishing position as the other winners he was cycling with when he needed technical assistance.
Mikel Landa finished third overall, a minute and a half behind Carapaz.
A challenging individual time trial follows mountain legs in Verona, which brings the event to a close.
"I was constantly checking Landa and Hindley because I thought there might be some gaps," "Carapaz said. "I intend to hold the Maglia Rosa to the conclusion, and I am confident in my legs."
After testing positive for COVID-19, Joao Almeida, the fourth-placed Portuguese cyclist, dropped even before the 18th stage. Carapaz was 1:54 ahead of Almeida.
Vincenzo Nibali, a two-time winner who expects to withdraw after the season, bumped up to the fourth place.
The stage came close with a flat round around Treviso, capping a 156-kilometre (97-mile) journey that began in Borgo Valsugana and included two fourth-category peaks.
Borgo Valsugana, who races for the Alpecin-Fenix team, was part of a four-person escape early in the race and snuck past Edoardo Affini and Magnus Cort Nielsen there at the finish line.
"In the last kilometres, we did a nice job with some other escapees to maintain the peloton behind us, but we had to concentrate on Magnus, who is a swift rider," De Bondt said. " imagine it, my first victory in a GT (Grand Tour)." A breakthrough like this was a dream come true."
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