Giro d’Italia: Schmid lights up Napoli stage

Mauro Schmid ventured in the breakaway that forged clear just a couple of kilometers into Saturday’s stage, a 153km trek around Napoli comprising five ascents of the Monte di Procida climb (1.8km, 6.8%), which back in 1977 hosted the prologue won by Freddy Maertens.
For about 50 kilometers, the gap between the 15-man group featuring Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl’s Swiss had a rather narrow gap, but as soon as they entered the circuit, they found the proper terrain to expand that advantage north of four minutes, at which point it became clear the day would belong to them. Mauro was one of the most active in the group, which began splitting on the small but nagging climbs crammed in the final 70 kilometers.
A stage winner at Il Giro last year, Schmid tried to get away 40 kilometers from the finish, and despite the others reacting to this move, he continued to insist, bursting away from the group and taking just a handful of riders with him. Things calmed down briefly, before others began showing their intentions and eventually zipping away on one of the numerous climbs surrounding Napoli.
Mauro tried to organise the chase and left everything as he single-handedly reduced the 40-second gap to the leading quartet to just 15 seconds, but a lack of collaboration helped the four up the road edge out their margin again and fight for victory, which went to Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal), after a sprint in the closing 200 meters. Our riders finished just 15 seconds down, in sixth place, while the peloton arrived more than three minutes in arrears, and with it, also Mauri Vansevenant, who is sixth overall going into Sunday’s tough Blockhaus stage.
“I’m disappointed, because when you are in a break which goes all the way to the finish, you hope to win. I knew it was a day where a move could make it, but I was also aware it would be difficult because the group was quite large. I gave the best I could, and now I hope to recover, get over Sunday’s tough stage, and then enjoy the rest day. After that, there will be some more opportunities for me, hopefully”, an upbeat Mauro said at the finish in Napoli.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
Race details
1 |
Thomas De Gendt Lotto Soudal |
3:32:53 |
2 |
Davide Gabburo Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè |
0:00 |
3 |
Jorge Arcas Peña Movistar Team |
0:00 |
4 |
Harm Vanhoucke Lotto Soudal |
0:04 |
5 |
Biniam Girmay Hailu Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux |
0:15 |
6 |
Mauro Schmid
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
0:15 |
7 |
Mathieu van der Poel Alpecin-Fenix |
0:15 |
8 |
Wout Poels Bahrain - Victorious |
0:33 |
9 |
Guillaume Martin Cofidis |
0:33 |
10 |
Fabio Felline Astana Qazaqstan Team |
2:56 |
42 |
Mauri Vansevenant
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
3:33 |
81 |
James Knox
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
3:33 |
164 |
Pieter Serry
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
14:07 |
165 |
Davide Ballerini
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
14:07 |
166 |
Mark Cavendish
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
14:07 |
167 |
Bert Van Lerberghe
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
14:07 |
1 |
Juan Pedro López Pérez Trek - Segafredo |
32:15:31 |
2 |
Lennard Kämna BORA - hansgrohe |
0:38 |
3 |
Rein Taaramäe Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux |
0:58 |
4 |
Guillaume Martin Cofidis |
1:06 |
5 |
Simon Yates Team BikeExchange - Jayco |
1:42 |
6 |
Mauri Vansevenant
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
1:47 |
7 |
Wilco Kelderman BORA - hansgrohe |
1:55 |
8 |
João Almeida UAE Team Emirates |
1:58 |
9 |
Pello Bilbao López de Armentia Bahrain - Victorious |
2:00 |
10 |
Richie Porte INEOS Grenadiers |
2:04 |
80 |
James Knox
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
41:09 |
94 |
Mauro Schmid
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
52:30 |
153 |
Davide Ballerini
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
1:26:18 |
165 |
Mark Cavendish
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
1:43:04 |
166 |
Bert Van Lerberghe
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
1:43:21 |
167 |
Pieter Serry
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
1:44:02 |
1 |
Arnaud Démare Groupama - FDJ |
147 pt |
2 |
Biniam Girmay Hailu Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux |
120 pt |
3 |
Mark Cavendish
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
78 pt |
4 |
Mathieu van der Poel Alpecin-Fenix |
72 pt |
5 |
Fernando Gaviria Rendon UAE Team Emirates |
54 pt |
6 |
Giacomo Nizzolo Israel - Premier Tech |
54 pt |
7 |
Thomas De Gendt Lotto Soudal |
51 pt |
8 |
Filippo Tagliani Drone Hopper - Androni Giocattoli |
45 pt |
9 |
Caleb Ewan Lotto Soudal |
43 pt |
10 |
Davide Gabburo Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè |
38 pt |
24 |
Mauro Schmid
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
20 pt |
27 |
Davide Ballerini
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
18 pt |
51 |
Mauri Vansevenant
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
6 pt |
64 |
Bert Van Lerberghe
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
4 pt |
1 |
Koen Bouwman Jumbo-Visma |
68 pt |
2 |
Lennard Kämna BORA - hansgrohe |
43 pt |
3 |
Wout Poels Bahrain - Victorious |
27 pt |
4 |
Davide Formolo UAE Team Emirates |
25 pt |
5 |
Bauke Mollema Trek - Segafredo |
20 pt |
6 |
Mirco Maestri EOLO-Kometa |
18 pt |
7 |
Juan Pedro López Pérez Trek - Segafredo |
18 pt |
8 |
Rein Taaramäe Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux |
12 pt |
9 |
Tom Dumoulin Jumbo-Visma |
11 pt |
10 |
Sylvain Moniquet Lotto Soudal |
9 pt |
12 |
Mauri Vansevenant
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
6 pt |
1 |
Juan Pedro López Pérez Trek - Segafredo |
32:15:31 |
2 |
Mauri Vansevenant
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
1:47 |
3 |
João Almeida UAE Team Emirates |
1:58 |
4 |
Thymen Arensman Team DSM |
2:15 |
5 |
Santiago Buitrago Sánchez Bahrain - Victorious |
2:18 |
6 |
Iván Ramiro Sosa Cuervo Movistar Team |
3:05 |
7 |
Pavel Sivakov INEOS Grenadiers |
3:14 |
8 |
Tobias Foss Jumbo-Visma |
4:14 |
9 |
Gijs Leemreize Jumbo-Visma |
5:19 |
10 |
Felix Gall AG2R Citroën Team |
6:48 |
28 |
Mauro Schmid
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
52:30 |
1 | Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux | 96:49:05 |
2 | Trek - Segafredo | 0:51 |
3 | BORA - hansgrohe | 1:01 |
4 | Bahrain - Victorious | 1:04 |
5 | Jumbo-Visma | 2:01 |
6 | INEOS Grenadiers | 4:22 |
7 | Team BikeExchange - Jayco | 4:27 |
8 | Movistar Team | 7:05 |
9 | Cofidis | 9:27 |
10 | Astana Qazaqstan Team | 10:07 |