14 May 2023
Thomas second and Tao fourth after close TT battle
Related riders
Tao Geoghegan Hart
Geraint Thomas
Giro d'Italia - Stage 9 » Savignano sul Rubicone › Cesena ITT, 35km
Geraint Thomas and Tao Geoghegan Hart led the Grenadiers on a day of superb time trial performances on stage nine of the Giro.
The British duo placed second and third fastest on the 35-kilometre test, with Thomas a single tantalising second off the stage victory.
Remco Evenepoel (Soudal - Quick-Step) narrowly took the win in Cesena after Thomas had clawed back time across the course. Despite narrowly missing out on the stage win, Thomas has now propelled himself up to second overall, 45 seconds off Evenepoel who returned to the maglia rosa.
Geoghegan Hart put in another of the best TT rides of his career on the day, finishing just one second behind Thomas, two seconds off the stage win himself, to climb to fourth overall. Tao sits 50 seconds back on pink, and just three off third placed Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma).
There were brilliant TTs everywhere from the team, with Thymen Arensman setting the seventh fastest time, Laurens De Plus 14th and Pavel Sivakov 17th.
The result sees Sivakov jump up to 10th overall, with Arensman 13th and De Plus 14th on GC - a superb show of collective strength.
The Grenadiers lead the team classification by over six minutes heading into Monday's first rest day.
The British duo placed second and third fastest on the 35-kilometre test, with Thomas a single tantalising second off the stage victory.
Remco Evenepoel (Soudal - Quick-Step) narrowly took the win in Cesena after Thomas had clawed back time across the course. Despite narrowly missing out on the stage win, Thomas has now propelled himself up to second overall, 45 seconds off Evenepoel who returned to the maglia rosa.
Geoghegan Hart put in another of the best TT rides of his career on the day, finishing just one second behind Thomas, two seconds off the stage win himself, to climb to fourth overall. Tao sits 50 seconds back on pink, and just three off third placed Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma).
There were brilliant TTs everywhere from the team, with Thymen Arensman setting the seventh fastest time, Laurens De Plus 14th and Pavel Sivakov 17th.
The result sees Sivakov jump up to 10th overall, with Arensman 13th and De Plus 14th on GC - a superb show of collective strength.
The Grenadiers lead the team classification by over six minutes heading into Monday's first rest day.
Reaction
- Tao Geoghegan Hart
"I felt good which is most important. It was hard to judge all the corners and stuff because you don’t want to take risks, so you always end up a bit wondering which ones you didn’t do great. But that’s kind of normal for a stage race and especially a Grand Tour.
- Tao Geoghegan Hart
"I felt good which is most important. It was hard to judge all the corners and stuff because you don’t want to take risks, so you always end up a bit wondering which ones you didn’t do great. But that’s kind of normal for a stage race and especially a Grand Tour.
"I’m happy it’s a rest day tomorrow.
"There’s new [time trial] regulations which help to be honest. I feel much more comfortable on the TT bike now. That’s good from the last years. In the end when you have good condition it’s always easier to do a good time trial of course."
