2017 Giro d'Italia Stage 8 Results & Recap
Stage 8 of the 2017 Giro d'Italia is in the books. The final results and standings are below, followed by our recap of how the race unfolded.
Race Recap
Another stage another early break that stayed away to the end. Gorka Izagirre (Movistar Team) out sprinted Giovanni Visconti (Bahrain-Merida) for the win
Today’s stage started with a bang - riders were doing 60 kilometers an hour in the opening kilometers. However, no one could escape.
Finally a break of 16 got away. However, Wilier-Selle Italia and Gazprom missed the move so they were tasked in bringing it back. The Italian team director had been furious that his squad had missed the previous day’s break, so Wilier-Selle Italia were chasing with a vengence.
After 80 kilometers the riders faced the first category 2 ranked climb of the race. The break kept the gap steady at over three minutes as they summited the climb. However, damage was being done to their lead and it started to drop.
The remaining terrain was up and down with the result riders dropping out of the break until only five remained: Valerio Conti (UAE Team Emirates), Gorka Izagirre (Movistar), Luis León Sánchez (Astana Pro Team) and Giovanni Visconti (Bahrain Merida).
Their time gap hoovered around two minutes but as the break approached the final climb of the day it was just one minute and dropping fast.
The stage’s finale was fairly complex, with a fast-running descent from 5 to 3 km to the finish, followed by a short flat stretch, up to 1,500 meters from the finish. Here begins the closing climb, which grows increasingly steeper as the finish draws nearer (with peaks reaching 12%), and with several sharp bends. The home straight (200 meters), on 7-meter wide stone-paved road, has a 9-10% uphill gradient. It was one one of these curves that Conti slid and crashed. Sánchez had been doing a lot of work earlier couldn’t keep up with the acceleration and Izagirre took the stage over Visconti in a sprint. Just 18 seconds later pink jersey wearer Bob Jungels crossed the line securing his leadership of the Giro for another day.\n
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