2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 7 Results

HANSEN TAKES A BRILLIANT SOLO WIN IN THE RAIN, INTXAUSTI SEIZES THE DAY AND TAKES THE MAGLIA ROSA

On the attack for 147kms today, 20 of them alone, Adam Hansen (Lotto Belisol) took a memorable stage win in the Giro d’Italia today, on a day of rainfall, slippery roads and many falls that affected race favourites like Vincenzo Nibali and Bradley Wiggins.

Enrico Battaglin (Bardiani Valvole – CSF Inox), second in the stage, and Danilo Di Luca (Vini Fantini – Selle Italia), third, led home a group of 27 riders who finished 1 minute 07 seconds behind the stage winner. That group included the Movistar rider Beñat Intxausti, who is the new Maglia Rosa.

Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) crashed on the dangerous wet roads with about five km to go, losing time not only from the crash but from his slow and cautious descent afterwards, he crossed the finish line 0:02:31 after Hansen.

After the stage, Hansen and Intxausti spoke to the press.

Hansen: "Today looked like a breakaway stage. I was motivated this morning, and I shaved my head to be ready for it. Getting into the breakaway is one of the hardest things in cycling. When we led by 7 minutes I thought there was a chance. When our lead came down, I though there was no chance. Sella was the strongest rider on the climbs. I didn’t think he would expect a rider like me to ride on the climbs. I tried to break him mentally. I was surprised he cracked. The whole time I didn’t believe it. I thought the bunch would come back. When I heard my lead was still 2 minutes 30 seconds with 6km to go, I though: it’s real, this time I’m bringing it home." And, adding about his Italian roots, "I can’t speak Italian but I come from an Italian background. My grandparents migrated to Australia from Fossano. They settled in North Queensland, where my mother was born, into a sugar cane family, although they were related to the Italian Ambassador in Australia. I have dual passports, Italian and Australian."

Beñat Intxausti (Movistar), the new Maglia Rosa: "We knew it was a complicated stage because of the terrain, and in the end it became a real battle with Vini Fantini and Astana, with Nibali, making the racing. Paolini found the going hard, Urán had to work for Wiggins, so I took my opportunity. I dedicate this Maglia Rosa to my team. The Team Time Trial went very well for us, and since then, they’ve been working hard for my benefit. I dedicate it to my family and friends, to those who were with me in moments of difficulty." About the ITT tomorrow: "I’ve done OK in time trials in the past, but I’ve never really raced a time trial so long. I rode a 45km time trial at the Vuelta once, but not really racing it. There are much better specialists here than I am: Wiggins, Nibali, Hesjedal, Evans, for a start. If I keep the Maglia Rosa, then good. But even if I lose it, I’ll still be doing my best."

Stage 7 highlights:


Top 10 stage 7:
1 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol 4:35:49
2 Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 0:01:07
3 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
4 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
5 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
6 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
7 Stefano Pirazzi (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox
8 Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ
9 Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge
10 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Sharp
Wiggins: 55th at 0:02:31

Top 20 GC:
1 Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar Team 28:30:04
2 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:00:05
3 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Sharp 0:00:08
4 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha 0:00:10
5 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:00:13
6 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:00:16
7 Robert Gesink (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:00:19
8 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:00:28
9 Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge 0:00:29
10 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) RadioShack Leopard 0:00:34
11 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:00:52
12 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:00:53
13 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:00:57
14 Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre-Merida
15 Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha 0:00:58
16 Thomas Danielson (USA) Garmin-Sharp
17 Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:00:59
18 Yury Trofimov (Rus) Katusha 0:01:02
19 Rafal Majka (Pol) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:01:08
20 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:01:11

and 21st - 25th:
21 Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (Col) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01:15
22 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling 0:01:27
23 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:01:32
24 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:01:41
25 Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Sky Procycling 0:01:44

Tomorrow: 54.8 km individual time trial from Gabicce Mare to Saltara. The first 25 km won't favor the TT specialists with curves and ups and downs; the remaining Kms will be perfect for them. The finish into Saltara has a 13% grade. After loosing time today Wiggins will have to put in a strong performance on his new Pinarello Bolide TT bike (he did not use it in the TTT in stage 2) to put him into back into GC contention with Nibali, Hesjedal, and Evans who are also good time trialists. Phinney and Millar could be also be stage winners.

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