Giro d’Italia 2019 – Stage 18 [FULL STAGE]

May 30, 2019

Giro d’Italia 2019 – Stage 18 – Valdaora/Olang – Santa Maria di Sala : 222 km

The 2019 Giro d’Italia begins on Saturday, May 11, and this Essential Guide kicks off Cyclingnews’ 10-day countdown of special features in preparation for the first Grand Tour of the season. Between now and the opening time trial in Bologna, we’ll have special daily content, including major rider interviews, vital race information and retro features that capture the unique feeling and emotions of the Corsa Rosa. This 102nd edition of the Corsa Rosa rolls out of Bologna on Saturday, May 11, with an evening time trial up to the Basilica della Madonna di San Luca and ends three weeks later on Sunday, June 2, with a 17km time trial into the Roman amphitheatre in the centre of Verona. In between are 21 stages that head south via Tuscany, Lazio, Abruzzo and Puglia and then north back via San Marino for a key time trial and then to Piemonte, climbing first the Alps to the east and then the Passo Gavia and the Passo del Mortirolo before a terrible final week in the Dolomites. The 3,578km of racing include 59.8km of individual time trialling, which is balanced with 40 categorised climbs and six mountain-top finishes.

Damiano Cima took a breathtaking win for Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane on stage 18 of the Giro d’Italia and provided one of the most dramatic moments of this year’s race after narrowly holding off the chasing bunch including a hugely frustrated Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Simone Consonni (UAE Team Emirates), who led the sprint home behind.

Cima and his breakaway companions, Nico Denz (AG2R la Mondiale) and Mirco Maestri (Bardiani CSF) came into the finishing straight with a slender lead over a rampaging peloton and when Denz and then Maestri were swallowed up it looked as though the sprinters would deny the break a famous win.

Ackermann hit the front and looped around Denz and Maestri but Cima miraculously held on to take the biggest win of his career and his team’s first-ever Giro ‘’Italia stage win. The sight of Ackermann smashing his bars while Cima celebrated said it all and had the line been 10 metres further the outcome would have been different. However, the bunch at times were reluctant to chase and Cima was a deserving winner on a day that only sparked to life in the last hour of racing.

There were no changes in the overall standings with the Richard Carapaz (Movistar) retaining his lead over Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain Merida) and Primoz Roglic (Jumbo Visma) ahead of the race’s final set of mountain stages and Sunday’s finale in Verona.

How it unfolded

After several days of break and mountains stage 18 was a rare chance for the sprinters still in the race. It took over an hour for the break to final form and the likes of Ackermann would have been content with three riders to control. However, after almost three weeks of brutal racing nothing is ever straightforward. Arnaud Démare – the leader of the points classification – was unwilling to commit to the chase as he feared a straight shoot out between himself and the German. A break suited the Frenchman which left Ackermann relying on Israel Cycling Academy and the Dimension Data to provide support.

The bunch should have still had enough firepower to keep the three leaders in check but when the six minute advantage had dropped by only two minutes with 35km to go alarm bells began to go off in the peloton. Démare was still not moved into collaborating with the chase while token gestures from QuickStep and Lotto Soudal did little to help.

With 16km to go the stage remained in the balance with the break working well and the gap still at a respectable 2:07. A tailwind and a willingness to work ensured that the advantage was still over a minute with 10km. The bunch still had numbers, while the break were obviously tiring and when Denz accelerated from the break with just over 3km to go it looked as though the harmony within the leaders was completely shot.

However, the peloton were intent on fluffing their lines one last time. Rather than finish their race with a flourish and prove that the past were days in the mountains weren’t a waste of time or energy they eased off when the break was within touching distance.

That hesitation was all the leaders needed and even though they began to weave from one side of the road in a bid to make Denz lead out, they still had the line in their sights. FDJ finally hit the front in the final moments and when Denz and Maestri were drowned in the sprinters’ waves it looked as though Ackermann would safely surf to his third win of this year’s race. However, Cima last kick for the line was all he needed.

Results :
1 Damiano Cima (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane 4:56:04
2 Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
3 Simone Consonni (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
4 Florian Senechal (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5 Ryan Gibbons (RSA) Dimension Data
6 Manuel Belletti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
7 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Israel Cycling Academy
8 Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
9 Sean Bennett (USA) EF Education First
10 Mirco Maestri (Ita) Bardiani CSF
11 Nico Denz (Ger) AG2R La Mondiale
12 Paolo Simion (Ita) Bardiani CSF
13 Michael Gogl (Aut) Trek-Segafredo
14 Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Spa) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane
15 Josef Cerny (Cze) CCC Team
16 Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha-Alpecin
17 Marco Marcato (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
18 Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
19 Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin
20 Francisco Ventoso (Spa) CCC Team
21 José Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team
22 Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Groupama-FDJ
23 Jan Bakelants (Bel) Team Sunweb
24 Matteo Montaguti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
25 Davide Formolo (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
26 Jack Bauer (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott
27 Jos van Emden (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
28 Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal
29 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
30 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Astana Pro Team
31 Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
32 Miguel Angel Lopez (Col) Astana Pro Team
33 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
34 Andrey Amador (CRc) Movistar Team
35 Primoz Roglic (Slo) Team Jumbo-Visma
36 Pavel Sivakov (Rus) Team Ineos
37 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Ineos
38 Conor Dunne (Irl) Israel Cycling Academy
39 Grega Bole (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
40 Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
41 Valentin Madouas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
42 Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Movistar Team
43 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
44 Edward Dunbar (Irl) Team Ineos
45 Victor De La Parte (Spa) CCC Team
46 Mikel Landa (Spa) Movistar Team
47 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep
48 Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin
49 Simon Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott
50 Tanel Kangert (Est) EF Education First
51 Joe Dombrowski (USA) EF Education First
52 Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe
53 Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
54 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
55 Marco Canola (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane
56 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Astana Pro Team
57 Fausto Masnada (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:00:09
58 Larry Warbasse (USA) AG2R La Mondiale
59 François Bidard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
60 Nans Peters (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
61 Esteban Chaves (Col) Mitchelton-Scott
62 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Katusha-Alpecin
63 Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
64 Guillaume Boivin (Can) Israel Cycling Academy
65 Giovanni Carboni (Ita) Bardiani CSF
66 Marco Frapporti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
67 Dmitrii Strakhov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin
68 Lucas Hamilton (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
69 Andrea Vendrame (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
70 Hugh John Carthy (GBr) EF Education First
71 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
72 Amaro Antunes (Por) CCC Team
73 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal
74 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
75 Koen Bouwman (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
76 Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Mitchelton-Scott
77 Bob Jungels (Lux) Deceuninck-QuickStep
78 Pieter Serry (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
79 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:15
80 Jai Hindley (Aus) Team Sunweb 0:00:17
81 Sebastian Henao (Col) Team Ineos
82 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
83 Miles Scotson (Aus) Groupama-FDJ
84 Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale
85 Danilo Wyss (Swi) Dimension Data
86 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep
87 Miguel Eduardo Florez Lopez (Col) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
88 Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Katusha-Alpecin
89 Davide Villella (Ita) Astana Pro Team
90 Ion Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Astana Pro Team
91 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Ineos
92 Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Groupama-FDJ
93 Olivier Le Gac (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:23
94 Lukasz Owsian (Pol) CCC Team 0:00:48
95 Luis Mas Bonet (Spa) Movistar Team
96 Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
97 Markel Irizar (Spa) Trek-Segafredo
98 Nicola Conci (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
99 Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
100 Antonio Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
101 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal
102 Paul Martens (Ger) Team Jumbo-Visma
103 Ivan Sosa (Col) Team Ineos
104 Sepp Kuss (USA) Team Jumbo-Visma
105 Tom Bohli (Swi) UAE Team Emirates
106 Christopher Hamilton (Aus) Team Sunweb
107 Mikel Nieve (Spa) Mitchelton-Scott
108 Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
109 Nathan Brown (USA) EF Education First
110 Manuel Senni (Ita) Bardiani CSF
111 Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Movistar Team
112 Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Groupama-FDJ 0:01:00
113 Kamil Gradek (Pol) CCC Team
114 Lorenzo Rota (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:01:02
115 Thomas Leezer (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
116 Luke Durbridge (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:01:15
117 Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) Israel Cycling Academy 0:01:18
118 Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:01:42
119 Mikkel Frølich Honoré (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:01:48
120 Luca Covili (Ita) Bardiani CSF
121 Victor Campenaerts (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:03:36
122 Jonnathan Narvaez (Ecu) Team Ineos
123 Chad Haga (USA) Team Sunweb 0:03:52
124 Ruben Plaza (Spa) Israel Cycling Academy
125 Pello Bilbao (Spa) Astana Pro Team
126 Antonio Pedrero (Spa) Movistar Team 0:04:17
127 Jan Hirt (Cze) Astana Pro Team 0:04:32
128 Jay Mc Carthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:04:48
129 Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
130 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane 0:05:28
131 Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier (Eri) Dimension Data 0:06:11
132 Ben O’Connor (Aus) Dimension Data
133 Andrea Garosio (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
134 Sho Hatsuyama (Jpn) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane
135 Hector Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team
136 Jonathan Caicedo (Ecu) EF Education First
137 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Dimension Data
138 Will Clarke (Aus) Trek-Segafredo
139 Scott Davies (GBr) Dimension Data 0:08:20
140 Krists Neilands (Lat) Israel Cycling Academy
141 Guy Niv (Isr) Israel Cycling Academy
142 Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNS Valerio Conti (Ita) UAE Team Emirates

General Classification after Stage 18 :
1 Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Movistar Team 79:44:22
2 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:01:54
3 Primoz Roglic (Slo) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:02:16
4 Mikel Landa (Spa) Movistar Team 0:03:03
5 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo 0:05:07
6 Miguel Angel Lopez (Col) Astana Pro Team 0:06:17
7 Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:06:48
8 Simon Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott 0:07:13
9 Pavel Sivakov (Rus) Team Ineos 0:08:21
10 Davide Formolo (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:08:59
11 Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 0:09:20
12 Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin 0:10:32
13 Hugh John Carthy (GBr) EF Education First 0:14:51
14 Joe Dombrowski (USA) EF Education First 0:15:44
15 Valentin Madouas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:19:45
16 Fausto Masnada (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:23:43
17 Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:25:26
18 Mikel Nieve (Spa) Mitchelton-Scott 0:26:05
19 Victor De La Parte (Spa) CCC Team 0:26:12
20 Tanel Kangert (Est) EF Education First 0:28:42
21 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:32:42
22 Edward Dunbar (Irl) Team Ineos 0:37:20
23 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:44:03
24 Sebastian Henao (Col) Team Ineos 0:46:45
25 Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:47:43
26 Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:49:28
27 Bob Jungels (Lux) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:50:23
28 Jan Hirt (Cze) Astana Pro Team 0:50:45
29 Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:58:05
30 Andrey Amador (CRc) Movistar Team 1:01:15
31 Lucas Hamilton (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 1:02:59
32 Ben O’Connor (Aus) Dimension Data 1:03:03
33 Ion Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Astana Pro Team 1:06:13
34 Pieter Serry (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep 1:06:17
35 François Bidard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:08:44
36 Christopher Hamilton (Aus) Team Sunweb 1:09:23
37 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep 1:09:37
38 Pello Bilbao (Spa) Astana Pro Team 1:11:58
39 Esteban Chaves (Col) Mitchelton-Scott 1:13:58
40 Ivan Sosa (Col) Team Ineos 1:14:07
41 Jan Bakelants (Bel) Team Sunweb 1:14:45
42 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 1:19:14
43 Koen Bouwman (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 1:19:48
44 Matteo Montaguti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 1:19:55
45 Jai Hindley (Aus) Team Sunweb 1:20:56
46 José Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team 1:29:26
47 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:30:48
48 Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 1:32:22
49 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 1:36:03
50 Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier (Eri) Dimension Data 1:36:43
51 Andrea Vendrame (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 1:37:36
52 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Astana Pro Team 1:37:38
53 Antonio Pedrero (Spa) Movistar Team 1:39:29
54 Davide Villella (Ita) Astana Pro Team 1:39:34
55 Nans Peters (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:40:34
56 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal 1:42:24
57 Amaro Antunes (Por) CCC Team 1:44:11
58 Sepp Kuss (USA) Team Jumbo-Visma 1:44:29
59 Larry Warbasse (USA) AG2R La Mondiale 1:44:44
60 Giovanni Carboni (Ita) Bardiani CSF 1:51:46
61 Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal 1:53:52
62 Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 1:55:02
63 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Dimension Data 1:56:42
64 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal 1:59:28
65 Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Mitchelton-Scott 2:03:34
66 Manuel Senni (Ita) Bardiani CSF 2:06:25
67 Lukasz Owsian (Pol) CCC Team 2:09:20
68 Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) Israel Cycling Academy 2:14:44
69 Jay Mc Carthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe 2:17:47
70 Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Katusha-Alpecin 2:18:24
71 Marco Frapporti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 2:18:29
72 Ruben Plaza (Spa) Israel Cycling Academy 2:19:22
73 Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe 2:20:49
74 Nathan Brown (USA) EF Education First 2:21:08
75 Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Groupama-FDJ 2:23:46
76 Nicola Conci (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 2:25:39
77 Danilo Wyss (Swi) Dimension Data 2:27:06
78 Antonio Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 2:29:19
79 Luke Durbridge (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 2:29:38
80 Miguel Eduardo Florez Lopez (Col) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 2:29:48
81 Paul Martens (Ger) Team Jumbo-Visma 2:30:29
82 Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale 2:32:00
83 Luca Covili (Ita) Bardiani CSF 2:32:43
84 Francisco Ventoso (Spa) CCC Team 2:37:55
85 Jonnathan Narvaez (Ecu) Team Ineos 2:38:59
86 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Ineos 2:40:17
87 Lorenzo Rota (Ita) Bardiani CSF 2:41:41
88 Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe 2:43:34
89 Ryan Gibbons (RSA) Dimension Data 2:45:42
90 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep 2:53:23
91 Hector Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team 2:53:38
92 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Katusha-Alpecin 2:59:12
93 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Astana Pro Team 3:01:24
94 Andrea Garosio (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 3:02:45
95 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Ineos 3:03:30
96 Michael Gogl (Aut) Trek-Segafredo 3:04:01
97 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 3:04:57
98 Krists Neilands (Lat) Israel Cycling Academy 3:11:39
99 Mirco Maestri (Ita) Bardiani CSF 3:14:41
100 Jack Bauer (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott 3:16:52
101 Mikkel Frølich Honoré (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep 3:17:32
102 Chad Haga (USA) Team Sunweb 3:17:34
103 Florian Senechal (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep 3:17:58
104 Sean Bennett (USA) EF Education First 3:18:48
105 Manuel Belletti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 3:21:43
106 Jos van Emden (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 3:24:03
107 Jonathan Caicedo (Ecu) EF Education First 3:24:39
108 Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 3:25:29
109 Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha-Alpecin 3:26:26
110 Marco Marcato (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 3:27:29
111 Guy Niv (Isr) Israel Cycling Academy 3:29:58
112 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane 3:30:33
113 Victor Campenaerts (Bel) Lotto Soudal 3:30:47
114 Grega Bole (Slo) Bahrain-Merida 3:30:56
115 Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin 3:35:17
116 Josef Cerny (Cze) CCC Team 3:36:55
117 Marco Canola (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane 3:44:23
118 Olivier Le Gac (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 3:48:40
119 Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Movistar Team 3:51:25
120 Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 3:51:31
121 Scott Davies (GBr) Dimension Data 3:51:51
122 Thomas Leezer (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 3:53:08
123 Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 3:58:00
124 Nico Denz (Ger) AG2R La Mondiale 4:00:05
125 Guillaume Boivin (Can) Israel Cycling Academy 4:01:57
126 Dmitrii Strakhov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin 4:04:26
127 Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 4:04:47
128 Simone Consonni (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 4:06:01
129 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Israel Cycling Academy 4:06:06
130 Luis Mas Bonet (Spa) Movistar Team 4:07:31
131 Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Groupama-FDJ 4:10:00
132 Kamil Gradek (Pol) CCC Team 4:12:36
133 Awet Andemeskel (Eri) Israel Cycling Academy 4:15:01
134 Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Groupama-FDJ 4:22:10
135 Conor Dunne (Irl) Israel Cycling Academy 4:26:26
136 Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Spa) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane 4:28:40
137 Damiano Cima (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane 4:29:22
138 Markel Irizar (Spa) Trek-Segafredo 4:31:28
139 Paolo Simion (Ita) Bardiani CSF 4:35:43
140 Tom Bohli (Swi) UAE Team Emirates 4:39:34
141 Miles Scotson (Aus) Groupama-FDJ 4:44:32
142 Will Clarke (Aus) Trek-Segafredo 5:03:34
143 Sho Hatsuyama (Jpn) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane 5:03:51