Kata Blanka Vas has won the eighth stage of the women’s Giro d’Italia road cycling race in a sprint finish.
After a day off on Friday, the cyclists covered 125.7 kilometres (78 miles) from Nuoro to Sassari on Saturday in the scorching heat of 38 degrees Celsius (101° Fahrenheit). The 21-year-old Hungarian champion of SD Worx was involved in several breakaway attempts within the last 50 kilometres (31 miles) as the final sprint was approaching. However, when her attempts did not yield success, she decided not to push further.
However, in the sprint, Vas positioned herself excellently within the group of favourites and rode in the leading group throughout the bumpy final kilometres: first right on the wheel of the legendary Dutch sprinter Marianne Vos, and then on the slightly uphill final kilometre, she stayed in the slipstream of American champion Chloe Dygert. From there, she launched her final push within the last 100 metres (110 yards) and won by a bike length ahead of Dygert and the German champion Liane Lippert.
With this finish, she achieved the biggest win of her career.
Within the past three weeks, she has won a stage in the Swiss Tour, as well as gold medals in the Hungarian Time Trial Championship.
In a quick interview, Vas said she is very happy and did not think in the morning that she would win. She also revealed that she ran out of water in the scorching heat during the last half hour, but she managed to get refreshments from a teammate. She also emphasised that she appreciates having the trust of the SD Worx team.
On the ninth stage, the peloton covered 126.85 kilometres (79 miles) from Sassari to Olbia. The Hungarian champion of SD Worx, after her stage victory on Saturday, once again approached the hilly route with downhill and short flat sections as one of the favourites.
She positioned herself promisingly, attempted to break away 35 kilometres (22 miles) before the finish, and also stayed at the front of the peloton during the downhill section. However, she could not ride as much at the front in the lead-up to the finish as she did the day before. She eventually drifted back before the final kilometre, finishing in 11th place. In the overall standings, she ended up in the 43rd position.
The 40-year-old Van Vleuten, after her victories in 2018, 2019, and last year’s edition, can take home the pink jersey for the fourth time. In the final year of her career, she won the second major women’s stage race after the May Vuelta. Thus, just like last year, she has the opportunity for a triple victory this year if she can defend her title in the Women’s Tour de France, which starts in two weeks.
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