Etixx Quick Step's Matteo Trentin has said that he only believed that he would take victory on stage eighteen with 350 metres to go.
Stage winner, Matteo Trentin said at the press conference: “I finally believed I would win with 350 meters to go when I saw that they didn’t start sprinting early. I didn't ride so much as one metre with them. It was key that I saw the stage finish today [with one lap to go]. They were two great riders ahead of me: Moreno [Moser], who has won what he won and is now getting back to his level, and Gianluca [Brambilla] who has been doing great since the beginning of the season. When they rode away, my goal was to reach the top of the climb with a small deficit. Having Gianluca at the front, I didn’t have to ride with [Nikias] Arndt, [Sacha] Modolo and [Ivan] Rovny. Eventually I was able to attack them and make it across. I don’t think Moreno even saw me coming from behind but Gianluca knew as he was told via radio to stop pulling because I was right there”.
Maglia Rosa Steven Kruijswijk said in the press conference: “It was a really long stage. My team did a perfect job today, with two guys pulling on the flat, others who brought me to the climbs, and Enrico [Battaglin], who did the whole climb by himself. We knew a breakaway would go to the finish, and also which riders and which teams would make it. It’s always more predictable at the end of the Giro. We controlled the race and stayed safe. I have been the team leader since the beginning, and I still have the same role in the team, although the Maglia Rosa gives me more confidence. I’m enjoying every moment in it. I hope I have made the race very attractive in the last week. I have received lots of support from the Italian fans, so I don’t think I’ve spoiled their party. As for tomorrow and Saturday, I’m looking forward to them. I’ve trained a lot in long climbs like this and I showed last week that I cope well with the altitude”.
FINAL RESULT
1 - Matteo Trentin (Etixx – Quick-Step) - 240km in 5h25'34", ave. 44.230km/h
2 - Moreno Moser (Cannondale Pro Cycling Team) s.t.
3 - Gianluca Brambilla (Etixx – Quick-Step) s.t.
JERSEYS
- Maglia Rosa (pink), General Classification, sponsored by Enel - Steven Kruijswijk (Team Lotto NL - Jumbo)
- Maglia Rossa (red), Sprint Classification, sponsored by Algida - Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek - Segafredo)
- Maglia Azzurra (blue), Mountains Classification, sponsored by Banca Mediolanum - Damiano Cunego (Nippo - Vini Fantini)
- Maglia Bianca (white), Young Rider Classification, sponsored by Eurospin - Bob Jungels (Etixx - Quick-Step)
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1 - Steven Kruijswijk (Team Lotto NL - Jumbo)
2 - Esteban Chaves (Orica Greenedge) at 3'00"
3 - Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team) at 3'23"
4 - Vincenzo Nibali (Astana Pro Team) at 4'43"
5 - Ilnur Zakarin (Team Katusha) at 4'50"
STATISTICS
- First win at the Giro d’Italia for Matteo Trentin, who has already won two Tour de France stages (stage 14 in 2013 and stage 7 in 2014). The run of first-time stage winners thus extends to five consecutive stages. The last time this occured was in 2013, when Adam Hansen, Alex Dowsett, Maxim Belkov, Rigoberto Uran and Ramunas Navardauskas won stages 7 to 13
- Trentin is a long distance specialist. Three of his eight pro wins (since he joined Quick Step in August 2011) have happened in races over 230km: stage 7 in the 2014 Tour de France (234.5km), Paris-Tours in 2015 (231km) and today’s stage to Pinerolo (240km)
- Fifth Italian stage win this Giro. It avoids a remake of 1989, the edition with the fewest Italian stage victories (4)
- In this Giro, Etixx-Quick Step have won four stages with three different riders (Marcel Kittel, Gianluca Brambilla and Trentin). The Belgian squad also had the Maglia Rosa for six days, also with three different riders (Kittel, Brambilla and Bob Jungels)