Tour of the Alps 2017 – Stage 5 [LAST 3 KM]

April 21, 2017

Tour of the Alps 2017 – Stage 5– Smarano – Trento : 199,6 km

The 2017 Tour of the Alps is a road cycling stage race that takes place in Austria and Italy between 17 and 21 April 2017. It is the 41st edition of the re-named Giro del Trentino and is rated as a 2.HC event as part of the 2017 UCI Europe Tour.

Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) claimed the final stage of the Tour of the Alps, out-sprinting Brent Bookwalter (BMC Racing) and Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) after a dramatic day of racing.

Thomas, who took the lead on stage 3 after winning in Funes, was left isolated on the two final climbs of stage as Pinot, Pozzovivo and Michele Scarponi (Astana) sensed blood. A fine ride from Mikel Landa (Team Sky), however, helped to protect Thomas. The Basque rider, who will co-lead Team Sky alongside Thomas in the Giro d’Italia next month, shut down a number of moves before driving the front group towards the final climb inside the last 10 kilometres.

A surge from Scarponi split the front group with 7.5 kilometres to go and saw Landa finally lose contact but when Pozzovivo jumped on the pedals moments later only Thomas and then Pinot could follow. Scarponi and then a number of other riders made contact on the descent but with bonus seconds up for grabs at the finish the overall title wasn’t sealed until the sprint for the line.

Pinot would have to win the stage and also distance Thomas in order to take the title, and the Frenchman took up the reigns with 200 metres to go. Bookwalter was wise to the move and Thomas latched on too, and although the FDJ leader took the stage, Thomas did enough to ensure he kept the leader’s jersey.

In the battle for the white young riders jersey, Egan Bernal (Androni Giocattoli) did more then enough to overcome a 17 deficit to Hugh Carthy (Cannondale-Drapac). The American team – as well as BMC Racing – had come under pressure after pulling riders out of the race in order to rest for Sunday’s Liege-Bastogne-Liège, and Carthy was dropped on the penultimate climb as Bernal attacked. The Colombian had a gap at the top of the Monte Bondone but was caught by the GC leaders on the rapid descent. Still, it was enough for the highly talented rider to pull on white at the end of the stage. Unlike Thomas, Landa and Pinot, Bernal will not be at the Giro d’Italia next month but his progression continues to be monitored closely with Team Sky and Movistar both in the running to sign him for 2018.

How it unfolded

With the top steps on the podium separated by seconds, the final stage of the race was always likely to come down to a battle to the line between the GC contenders. An early break containing Ben Gastauer (AG2R La Mondiale), Sergei Chernetski (Astana Pro Team), Joey Rosskopf (BMC Racing Team), Steve Morabito (FDJ), Francesco Gavazzi (Androni Giocattoli), Nicola Bagioli (Nippo – Vini Fantini), Daniel Martinez (Wilier Triestina), Francesco Manuel Bongiorno (Sangemini – Mg. K Vis) and Paolo Totò (Sangemini – Mg. K Vis) built up a lead that peaked at around four minutes.

The Monte Bondone would prove to be decisive. It saw the break caught and the opening hostilities among the GC contenders as Pinot and Scarponi launched probing offensives. Cannondale’s Pierre Rolland was next to attack and in the fog of war Thomas briefly lost all his team as they fell back one by one.

Landa wasn’t finished, however. He danced up to the leaders and quickly set about controlling the group, first catching Rolland and then setting a pace that ensured that riders could only think of following. Only Bernal could break Landa’s control, with the Androni rider skipping clear and establishing a lead that was only extinguished on the long but rapid descent.

Rodolfo Torres (Androni Giocattoli) made several attempts the soften up the pack as they approached the last climb, and the Colombian was the first rider to create a gap as they tackled the final climb. However, it was Scarponi who split the leaders, with a surge that did for Landa.

Scarponi, however, was ultimately the next rider to go backwards as Pozzovivo attacked just before the summit. Only Thomas could follow with Pinot desperate to make contact. The trio formed the leading group on the descent, with Scarponi and a larger group making contact with less than 5km to go.

Thomas marked his rivals all the way to the line to secure the overall win, while Pinot came away with a well-deserved stage victory.

Results :
1 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ 5:13:01
2 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team
3 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky
4 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
5 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Cannondale-Drapac 0:00:02
6 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Astana Pro Team
7 Egan Bernal (Col) Androni Giocattoli
8 Danilo Celano (Ita) Italy
9 Mikel Landa (Spa) Team Sky
10 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
11 Sergio Pardilla (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
12 Rodolfo Torres (Col) Androni Giocattoli 0:00:07
13 Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:00:14
14 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:57
15 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini 0:01:30
16 Julen Amezqueta (Spa) Wilier Triestina 0:01:55
17 Manuel Senni (Ita) BMC Racing Team
18 Cristian Rodriguez (Spa) Wilier Triestina
19 Luis León Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team
20 Hugh Carthy (GBr) Cannondale-Drapac
21 Paolo Totò (Ita) Sangemini – Mg. K Vis 0:03:02
22 Joey Rosskopf (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:03:28
23 Davide Orrico (Ita) Sangemini – Mg. K Vis 0:04:29
24 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini 0:04:35
25 Matteo Busato (Ita) Wilier Triestina
26 Fausto Masnada (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
27 Yonder Godoy (Ven) Wilier Triestina
28 Daniel Martinez (Col) Wilier Triestina 0:04:41
29 Steve Morabito (Swi) FDJ
30 Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) FDJ 0:04:43
31 Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale
32 François Bidard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
33 Philip Deignan (Irl) Team Sky 0:06:30
34 Alexander Foliforov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
35 Sergei Chernetski (Rus) Astana Pro Team 0:07:42
36 Nicholas Schultz (Aus) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:10:24
37 Awet Habtom Tekle (Eri) Bike Aid
38 Clement Chevrier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
39 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Astana Pro Team
40 Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
41 Nicola Gaffurini (Ita) Sangemini – Mg. K Vis
42 Francesco Manuel Bongiorno (Ita) Sangemini – Mg. K Vis
43 Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ
44 Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
45 Kenny Elissonde (Fra) Team Sky 0:10:29
46 Eduard Prades (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:13:10
47 Iuri Filosi (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini
48 Fabricio Ferrari (Uru) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:14:18
49 David Arroyo (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
50 Simone Velasco (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:15:29
51 Kilian Frankiny (Swi) BMC Racing Team
52 Alessandro Bisolti (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini 0:15:34
53 Nicola Bagioli (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini
54 Jérémy Maison (Fra) FDJ 0:15:38
55 Adne Van Engelen (Ned) Bike Aid 0:17:17
56 Marco Frapporti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
57 Edoardo Zardini (Ita) Bardiani CSF
58 Michele Gazzara (Ita) Sangemini – Mg. K Vis
59 Andrea Garosio (Ita) Italy
60 Antonio Zullo (Ita) Italy
61 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana Pro Team
62 Silvio Herklotz (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
63 Jan Bárta (Cze) Bora-Hansgrohe
64 Ilia Koshevoy (Blr) Wilier Triestina 0:17:21
65 Ildar Arslanov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
66 Stefano Pirazzi (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:17:24
67 Leigh Howard (Aus) Aqua Blue Sport 0:23:35
68 Giacomo Berlato (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini
69 Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF
70 Sebastian Schönberger (Aut) Tirol Cycling Team
71 Simone Andreetta (Ita) Bardiani CSF
72 Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini
73 Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
74 Paolo Prandini (Ita) Sangemini – Mg. K Vis
75 Sergey Firsanov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
76 Igor Boev (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
77 Simone Bernardini (Ita) Sangemini – Mg. K Vis
78 Matthias Krizek (Aut) Tirol Cycling Team
79 Julien Berard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
80 Filippo Fortin (Ita) Tirol Cycling Team
81 Maximilian Kuen (Aut) Tirol Cycling Team
82 Suleiman Kangangi (Ken) Bike Aid
83 Leonardo Basso (Ita) Italy
84 Ivan Rovny (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
85 Alberto Amici (Ita) Italy
86 Lucas Schwarz (Aut) Tirol Cycling Team
87 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
88 Raffaello Bonusi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
89 Eugert Zhupa (Alb) Wilier Triestina
90 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
91 Niccolo’ Salvietti (Ita) Sangemini – Mg. K Vis
92 Matteo Natali (Ita) Italy
93 Luca Raggio (Ita) Italy
94 William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ
95 Tom Bohli (Swi) BMC Racing Team
96 Josu Zabala (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
97 Zhandos Bizhigitov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
98 Johan Le Bon (Fra) FDJ
99 Valens Ndaiasenga (Aut) Tirol Cycling Team
100 Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
101 Andrew Fenn (GBr) Aqua Blue Sport
102 Peter Koning (Ned) Aqua Blue Sport
103 Sergey Nikolaev (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
104 Nathan Brown (USA) Cannondale-Drapac
105 Joe Dombrowski (USA) Cannondale-Drapac
106 Daniel Bichlmann (Ger) Bike Aid
107 Simone Sterbini (Ita) Bardiani CSF
108 Dmitriy Kozontchuk (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
109 Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:23:47
110 Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Ian Boswell (USA) Team Sky
DNF Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Team Sky
DNF Moreno Moser (Ita) Astana Pro Team
DNF Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF William Clarke (Aus) Cannondale-Drapac
DNF Davide Ballerini (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
DNF Calvin Watson (Aus) Aqua Blue Sport
DNF Martyn Irvine (Irl) Aqua Blue Sport
DNF Luca Wackermann (Ita) Bardiani CSF
DNF Masakazu Ito (Jpn) Nippo – Vini Fantini
DNF Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Wilier Triestina
DNF Nikodemus Holler (Ger) Bike Aid
DNF Timothy Rugg (USA) Bike Aid
DNF Salim Kipkemboi (Ken) Bike Aid
DNF Timo Schäfer (Ger) Bike Aid
DNF Enrico Salvador (Ita) Tirol Cycling Team
DNF Patrick Gamper (Aut) Tirol Cycling Team
DNF Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) Italy
DNS Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team
DNS José Mendes (Por) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNS Davide Formolo (Ita) Cannondale-Drapac
DNS Davide Villella (Ita) Cannondale-Drapac
DNS Stefan Denifl (Aut) Aqua Blue Sport
DNS Lawrence Warbasse (USA) Aqua Blue Sport

Final General Classification :
1 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 20:49:37
2 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ 0:00:07
3 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:20
4 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:00:27
5 Mikel Landa (Spa) Team Sky 0:00:42
6 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Cannondale-Drapac 0:00:52
7 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:54
8 Danilo Celano (Ita) Italy
9 Egan Bernal (Col) Androni Giocattoli 0:01:02
10 Rodolfo Torres (Col) Androni Giocattoli 0:01:16
11 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:01:49
12 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:02:03
13 Sergio Pardilla (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:02:18
14 Hugh Carthy (GBr) Cannondale-Drapac 0:02:38
15 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini 0:03:35
16 Luis León Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team 0:03:58
17 Cristian Rodriguez (Spa) Wilier Triestina 0:04:32
18 Julen Amezqueta (Spa) Wilier Triestina 0:04:42
19 Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:04:46
20 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini 0:06:42
21 Fausto Masnada (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
22 François Bidard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
23 Matteo Busato (Ita) Wilier Triestina 0:06:53
24 Yonder Godoy (Ven) Wilier Triestina 0:08:33
25 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:11:38
26 Steve Morabito (Swi) FDJ 0:12:09
27 Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 0:13:12
28 Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:14:19
29 Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) FDJ 0:14:48
30 Joey Rosskopf (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:14:52
31 Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale 0:15:38
32 Manuel Senni (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:16:03
33 Clement Chevrier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:16:20
34 Alexander Foliforov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo 0:18:04
35 Kenny Elissonde (Fra) Team Sky 0:20:38
36 Fabricio Ferrari (Uru) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:20:47
37 Daniel Martinez (Col) Wilier Triestina 0:21:05
38 Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ 0:21:50
39 Paolo Totò (Ita) Sangemini – Mg. K Vis 0:25:02
40 Ilia Koshevoy (Blr) Wilier Triestina 0:25:06
41 Davide Orrico (Ita) Sangemini – Mg. K Vis 0:26:22
42 Kilian Frankiny (Swi) BMC Racing Team 0:26:29
43 Philip Deignan (Irl) Team Sky 0:27:40
44 Francesco Manuel Bongiorno (Ita) Sangemini – Mg. K Vis 0:27:44
45 Sergey Firsanov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo 0:27:48
46 Nathan Brown (USA) Cannondale-Drapac 0:28:45
47 Marco Frapporti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:30:51
48 Antonio Zullo (Ita) Italy 0:31:26
49 Sergei Chernetski (Rus) Astana Pro Team 0:35:28
50 Iuri Filosi (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini 0:35:34
51 Stefano Pirazzi (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:41:00
52 Simone Andreetta (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:41:04
53 Sebastian Schönberger (Aut) Tirol Cycling Team 0:42:01
54 Eduard Prades (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:42:51
55 Jérémy Maison (Fra) FDJ 0:44:41
56 Edoardo Zardini (Ita) Bardiani CSF
57 Silvio Herklotz (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:45:18
58 Nicholas Schultz (Aus) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:46:55
59 Jan Bárta (Cze) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:46:58
60 Michele Gazzara (Ita) Sangemini – Mg. K Vis 0:47:07
61 Alberto Amici (Ita) Italy 0:49:47
62 Andrea Garosio (Ita) Italy 0:51:32
63 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:52:20
64 Nicola Bagioli (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini 0:53:56
65 Joe Dombrowski (USA) Cannondale-Drapac 0:56:23
66 Simone Sterbini (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:56:52
67 Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:57:06
68 Julien Berard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:58:53
69 Alessandro Bisolti (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini 0:59:01
70 Maximilian Kuen (Aut) Tirol Cycling Team 1:01:05
71 Luca Raggio (Ita) Italy 1:01:35
72 Ivan Rovny (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo 1:02:41
73 Leigh Howard (Aus) Aqua Blue Sport 1:04:17
74 Matteo Natali (Ita) Italy 1:06:27
75 Awet Habtom Tekle (Eri) Bike Aid 1:08:46
76 Simone Velasco (Ita) Bardiani CSF 1:08:59
77 Tom Bohli (Swi) BMC Racing Team 1:09:14
78 Raffaello Bonusi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 1:09:18
79 Josu Zabala (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 1:12:18
80 Suleiman Kangangi (Ken) Bike Aid 1:13:01
81 Ildar Arslanov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo 1:13:11
82 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 1:13:22
83 Matthias Krizek (Aut) Tirol Cycling Team 1:15:00
84 David Arroyo (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 1:16:40
85 Filippo Fortin (Ita) Tirol Cycling Team 1:17:59
86 Nicola Gaffurini (Ita) Sangemini – Mg. K Vis 1:20:55
87 Johan Le Bon (Fra) FDJ 1:23:05
88 Zhandos Bizhigitov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 1:24:18
89 Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF 1:25:09
90 Dmitriy Kozontchuk (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo 1:25:59
91 Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini 1:27:57
92 Leonardo Basso (Ita) Italy
93 Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 1:28:41
94 Adne Van Engelen (Ned) Bike Aid 1:28:51
95 Eugert Zhupa (Alb) Wilier Triestina 1:29:40
96 William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ
97 Lucas Schwarz (Aut) Tirol Cycling Team 1:29:44
98 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo 1:29:49
99 Peter Koning (Ned) Aqua Blue Sport 1:36:16
100 Andrew Fenn (GBr) Aqua Blue Sport
101 Giacomo Berlato (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini 1:38:59
102 Simone Bernardini (Ita) Sangemini – Mg. K Vis
103 Sergey Nikolaev (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
104 Niccolo’ Salvietti (Ita) Sangemini – Mg. K Vis 1:43:21
105 Daniel Bichlmann (Ger) Bike Aid
106 Igor Boev (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo 1:43:26
107 Valens Ndaiasenga (Aut) Tirol Cycling Team 1:44:14
108 Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 1:48:41
109 Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 1:48:48
110 Paolo Prandini (Ita) Sangemini – Mg. K Vis 1:52:13