Australia’s three main general classification contenders at this year’s Giro d’Italia sit fifth, sixth and seventh following the key stage 10 time trial on Tuesday.
After joking last week about “the WA Cup” being up for grabs, West Australians Ben O’Connor, Jai Hindley and Michael Storer are within 40 seconds of each other inside the overall top 10.
Italian time trial specialist Filippo Ganna was untouchable on the 42 kilometre race against the clock, recording an average speed of 54.9km/h to claim victory by 1:54 from the second-placed finisher, Netcompany-INEOS teammate Thymen Arensman, who jumped to third overall.
But Australia’s trio also impressed, with O’Connor the big mover among the general classification hopes, moving up three places to leapfrog fellow West Australian Hindley into fifth place.
Meanwhile Storer, who was born in Sydney but raised in Perth, moved from 10th place to seventh.
Michael Storer had a good time trial to move up to seventh overall. (Getty Images: Tim de Waele)
The flat time trial was something of a throwback at this year’s Giro, with organisers rarely throwing such a long ride in for the specialists.
However, O’Connor, who finished 11th on the stage and third among the contenders for overall victory in Rome, noted that the event was almost tailor-made for him based on his early racing experiences in Perth.
“I mean, it suits me, so I’m not complaining,” O’Connor told reporters at the finish.
“I don’t mind it. It reminds me of time trials that I grew up with back at home with ATTA [the Australian Time Trial Association], the 40km time trials down there [in] Chidlow and Mundaring in [the eastern] Perth countryside. So yeah, it’s my bread and butter, I guess.
“That was my kind of initiation into road cycling, doing time trials there with clip-on bars, so it was a bit reminiscent of it. But yeah, this one hurt. This one hurt a lot.”
Filippo Ganna was untouchable on the time trial. (Getty Images: Dario Belingheri)
Of the major general classification favourites, only Arensman and Canadian Derek Gee-West could out-ride O’Connor on the day, making for a very satisfactory return to racing for the 30-year-old.
“It was good. It was a good ride,” O’Connor said.
“I felt much better. I was a bit under the weather on stage 9, and thankfully the rest day was there. Now it’s back to normal, so I’m happy with that ride.
“It was smooth. I was fading in the final couple of kilometres, though. I probably didn’t need to go out as hard, but I did a pretty good ride in the end.”
Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe’s Hindley was another of the riders battling mild sickness on Sunday’s ninth stage. He looked drained at the conclusion of his effort, suggesting that he was still struggling.
Jai Hindley appears to be struggling for peak fitness. (Getty Images: Dario Belingheri)
The 30-year-old, as is his habit, did not speak to the press after the stage but he was the worst performer of the main general classification favourites on the day, coming home in at 22nd position, more than a minute behind O’Connor.
Pre-race favourite Jonas Vingegaard may have hoped to claim the overall leader’s jersey on the time trial stage, but Afonso Eulálio continued to defy the odds with another brave exhibition to hold onto the jersey by 27 seconds.
Vingegaard finished 13th on the stage, 3 minutes behind Ganna.
“It was terrible. It was very long and not my specialty to do a flat time trial like this,” Vingegaard said in a post-race interview.
“I’ve never been super good at it, and to be honest, I came through pretty well today.”
Arensman moved into third place, 1 minute and 30 seconds behind Vingegaard, with Felix Gall limiting his losses to sit fourth, 27 seconds further back.
Wednesday’s 11th stage sees riders go from Porcari to Chiavari, a hilly 195km stage with three categorised climbs packed into the second half of the day’s racing.
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