The Ecuadorian Jhonatan Narváez (Ineos) achieves second victory for his country in the twelfth stage of the Giro d'Italia
Escaped in the last 15 kilometers, 23-year-old Narváez took advantage of a flat tire from Ukrainian Mark Padun (Bahrain Mclaren), a fellow escapee, to go solo to the finish line, where he raised his arms with a time of 5 h 31 min 24 s.
"I am very happy because I have worked very hard to come here to the Giro. I have felt very good in these days of competition and recovery. I knew the difference (of the time I had gained) and all I did was go full throttle until the end," said Narváez to the official competition channel.
"Every day I wake up with the same spirit and in the end I have achieved it. I know that all this has been very tough and it is a lot for a rider to win here in the Giro d'Italia," he added.
Padun finished 1 minute and 7 seconds behind, sunk by an unfortunate incident that deprived him of competing for the victory. This is the second Ecuadorian victory in the current edition of the Giro, as Jonathan Caicedo won at the top of Mount Etna on the third stage.
The favorites arrived together, 8 minutes and 25 seconds behind the stage winner, with no changes in the general classification.
Joao Almeida retained the pink jersey, with a 34-second lead over Dutchman Wilco Kelderman (Sunweb) and a 43-second lead over Spaniard Pello Bilbao (Bahrain McLaren).
This Friday, the thirteenth stage will take the peloton from Cervia to Monselice, covering a distance of 192 kilometers. (D)