Italian rider Lorenzo Fortunato took his first pro victory in style on Saturday, riding to a solo win at the Giro d'Italia atop the gruesomely-steep Monte Zoncolan climb.
The 25-year-old Eolo Kometa rider was part of the day's big break and, after Jan Tratnik pressed ahead on the final ascent with 10 kilometres remaining, he bridged up to the Bahrain-Victorious competitor three kilometres later.
Fortunato then made his winning move with 2.3 kilometres left, heading into the steepest section of the climb. He drew clear of the bulkier Tratnik on ramps up to 27 per cent steepness and grinded out a 26-second advantage by the line.
"I am very happy for today," the Grand Tour debutant beamed. "The team is the best and in first attacks I stayed with my teammate Vincenzo Albanese, I went in the breakaway with him. I went easy all day in the breakaway, but attacked on the Zoncolan. I stayed behind Tratnik. I had very good legs and I am very, very happy."
Behind, overall leader Egan Bernal's Ineos Grenadiers team had set the pace and the young Colombian was the only one able to go with Simon Yates (Team BikeExchange) when the Briton attacked. Bernal then dropped Yates inside the final kilometre, crossing the line one minute 43 seconds behind Fortunato for fourth on the stage. The surge saw him open an 11-second advantage, further padding his grip on the Maglia Rosa.
“I just tried to be calm, because I think I am in a really good position now in the GC [general classification],” he said. “I don’t need to attack in every mountain stage, I need to be calm, I need to be patient. Finally I just followed Yates. I tried to do the acceleration in the final and I think I did a good race.”
Russian rider Aleksandr Vlasov had been Bernal's closest rival heading into the stage and his Astana-Premier Tech team did a lot of riding to try to set him up to reduce his 45-second deficit. However, he ended up struggling on the climb, placing 16th and conceding a further one minute 12 seconds.
Ireland's Dan Martin had a better time, netting 12th, two minutes 27 seconds behind Fortunato and 44 seconds off Bernal. He moved up four places to 13th overall, seven minutes 50 seconds off the pink jersey, and will continue bidding for a stage win in the days ahead.
“I am happy with my performance today and I am happy with how I am feeling,” he said. “Our small team rode really well. The guys really looked after me. In the end, I felt pretty good. I am in a good place mentally and physically and I will keep fighting. Fighting is my nature.”
Yates jumps up three places to become Bernal’s closest rival, and is now one minute 33 seconds back. He noted that his form is picking up after what he admitted “wasn’t the best of the first weeks” [in a Grand Tour], but that he is feeling much better. “The legs are getting there, slowly but surely. Bernal showed again he is the man to beat. It will be difficult to beat him, but we will keep trying.”
There are still another seven stages left to race, including four difficult mountain legs plus the concluding time trial. "I think it is a good gap," said Bernal, the 2019 Tour de France winner. "But I need to be focussed, because everything can happen in the Giro. It looks like 1 [minute] 30 is enough time, but you never know. I need to be calm with the gap."
The Giro continues on Sunday with an undulating stage to Gorizia.
Giro d’Italia
Stage 14 (Cittadella to Monte Zoncolan): 1 Lorenzo Fortunato (Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team) at 5 hours 17 mins 22 secs, 2 J Tratnik (Bahrain Victorious) at 26 secs, 3 A Covi (UAE Team Emirates) at 59 secs, 4 E Bernal Gomez (Ineos Grenadiers) at 1 min 43 secs, 5 B Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) at 1.47, 6 S Yates (Team BikeExchange) at 1.54.
Irish: 12 D Martin (Israel Start Up Nation) at 2 mins 27 secs; 54 N Roche (Team DSM) at 15.10.
General classification after stage 14: 1 Egan Bernal Gomez (Ineos Grenadiers) 58 hours, 30 mins, 47 secs, 2 S Yates (Team BikeExchange) at 1 min 33 secs, 3 D Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) at 1.51, 4 A Vlasov (Astana-Premier Tech) at 1.57, 5 H Carthy (EF Education-Nippo) at 2.11, 6 E Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) at 2.36.
Irish: 13 D Martin (Israel Start Up Nation) at 7 mins 50 secs; 56 N Roche (Team DSM) at 1 hour 16 mins 39 secs
