Alberto Bettiol attacked at the top of the final climb on stage 13 in Verbania and rode solo to victory, five years after his previous stage win. He caught Andreas Leknessund at the Ungiasca summit, left the Norwegian behind, and powered away on the descent. Bettiol celebrated with arms raised well before the finish, with his girlfriend Lisa Finetti waiting to hug him after he crossed the line. Leknessund finished 26 seconds down in second, while Jasper Stuyven won a four-rider sprint for third. Afonso Eulalio led the peloton and finished in the pink jersey, with the peloton trailing by more than 13 minutes overall.
"Alberto Bettiol attacked at the top of the final climb to ride solo to victory on stage 13 of the Giro d'Italia in Verbania on Friday, five years after his last stage win. Bettiol, who also soloed to win a stage in 2021, caught Andreas Leknessund as they reached the Ungiasca summit and left the Norwegian in his wake before powering away on the descent. The Italian took a quick glance over his shoulder before raising his arms long before the line in celebration, and his girlfriend, Lisa Finetti, was there to hug him after the finish."
"Uno-X Mobility's Leknessund came in 26 seconds behind in second, with the Belgian Jasper Stuyven winning a four-rider sprint to take third for Soudal-QuickStep. Portugal's Afonso Eulalio, competing for Bahrain Victorious, was at the head of the peloton which trailed in more than 13 minutes behind the winner, staying 33 seconds ahead of Jonas Vingegaard at the top of the general classification. A group of 15 riders built up a healthy lead over the peloton on the 189km ride from Alessandria and, by the time the stage reached the first of two climbs with less than 25km to ride, the gap was north of 11 minutes."
"The breakaway stayed together on the short ascent to Bieno before the longer, steeper Ungiasca climb brought the expected attack and four riders got away. Leknessund made his solo push, but Bettiol gave chase, and the Italian powered away to secure the stage win. Bettiol’s celebration came early, with arms raised before the line, followed by a hug from Lisa Finetti at the finish."
"Today, in theory I won already before the start because I had all my family here and my second family because, of course, my girlfriend and all her family are from Verbania, Bettiol said. Having all of them, my brother, my father, my mom and all my really, really few people that have always been around me, it was already, for me, a victory. But winning like this is something I will bring forever with me."
Read at www.theguardian.com
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