Tour of the Alps 2019 – Stage 3 [LAST 10 KM]

April 24, 2019

Tour of the Alps 2019 – Stage 3 – Salurn/Salorno – Baselga di Pinè : 106,3 km

The Tour of the Alps is an annual professional cycling stage race in Italy and Austria. First held in 1962, it was named Giro del Trentino (English: Tour of Trentino) until 2016, and run over four stages in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region of Italy. In 2015, the race merged with the nearby one-day race Trofeo Melinda, and the 2015 edition was called the Giro del Trentino Melinda. In 2017, the event was renamed Tour of the Alps, as it addresses the entire Euroregion of Tyrol–South Tyrol–Trentino, formed by three different regional authorities in two countries: the Austrian state of Tyrol and the Italian autonomous provinces of South Tyrol and Trentino. It should not be confused with the similarly named Giro al Sas di Trento, an annual road running competition in the city of Trento.

Fausto Masnada (Androni-Giocattoli-Sidermec) claimed the biggest victory of his career when he clipped away from an elite group to win stage 3 of the Tour of the Alps at Baselga di Piné.

The Italian succeeded in clawing his way back up to the select front group when the road levelled out in the final kilometres following a stiff climb towards the finish, and he proceeded to show considerable nous by attacking with 1.5km remaining to take the spoils.

Tao Geoghegan Hart (Team Sky) won the sprint for second place ahead of Rafal Majka (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida).

Pavel Sivakov (Team Sky) retains the overall lead after coming home in the same group, five seconds down on Masnada.

The short, explosive stage featured the uncategorised climb towards Montagnaga in the finale ahead of the 4km plateau that led to the finish at Baselga di Piné. Elie Gesbert (Arkea-Samsic) was the last survivor of the day’s early break, but the Frenchman was caught on the final ascent as Majka and Nibali attacked forcefully from the dwindling group of favourites.

Nibali had already signalled his intentions by placing his brother Antonio in the day’s early break and then sending teammate Hermann Pernsteiner on the offensive at the base of the climb. The Italian’s decision to respond to Majka’s attack with a shade under 6km to go prompted Chris Froome (Team Sky) to take up the reins of pursuit in the main group.

Froome had lost ground on the descent of Monte Giovo on Tuesday, but he looked rather more assured here, as he towed Sivakov and Geoghegan Hart back up to Nibali and Majka. The Briton’s pace-making whittled the front group down to just seven riders – Jan Hirt (Astana) and Mattia Cattaneo (Androni-Sidermec) also managed to keep pace – at the top of the climb, where Nibali made one last attempt to go clear alone.

Together with Evgeny Shalunov (Gazprom-Rusvelo), Masnada managed to regain contact as the road levelled out in the closing kilometres, and the Italian sensed an opportunity as the nine-man leading group approached the finish. With 1500 metres to go, he attacked forcefully from the rear of the group and quickly established a winning gap.

A native of Bergamo, Masnada is in his third season as a professional. He caught the eye on his Giro d’Italia debut in 2018 with an aggressive display at Gran Sasso d’Italia, and he reached Rome in 26th place overall. Winner of the Tour of Hainan last season, he showcased his recent form with third overall at the Giro di Sicilia.

In the overall standings, Pavel Sivakov retains the cyclamen jersey of race leader and maintains his buffer of 8 seconds over Jan Hirt. Mattia Cattaneo lies third at 23 seconds, with Majka fourth at 35 seconds. Geoghegan Hart remains in contention in fifth at 37 seconds, with Vincenzo Nibali a further two seconds back.

How it unfolded

At just 106km in length and with barely a metre of flat on the agenda, stage 3 of the Tour of the Alps promised to be a breathless affair. After a rapid start on leaving Salorno, the early break took shape after 12km. Antonio Nibali (Bahrain-Merida), Manuele Boaro (Astana Pro Team), Evgeny Shalunov (Gazprom-Rusvelo), Elie Gesbert (Arkea-Samsic), Nicola Bagioli (Nippo-Vini Fantini), Carlos Quintero (Manzana Postobon), Francesco Gavazzi (Androni-Sidermec), Nicolau Beltran (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Fernando Barcelo (Euskadi-Murias), Simone Velasco (Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia), Michele Corradini and Marco Tizza (Italian national team) forged clear on the road towards Palù di Giovo, home of Francesco Moser and Gilberto Simoni, and established a maximum lead of 3:40 over the peloton.

With no general classification threat in the move, Team Sky were content to leave the bulk of the chasing duties to AG2R La Mondiale, who were eager to set up Alexis Vuillermoz for a tilt at stage victory. Quintero led the break over the summit of Brusago but their unity gradually began to fragment on the category 2 haul up Lago di Santa Colomba.

Gesbert was the principal aggressor, attacking 3km from the summit and bringing Quintero and Antonio Nibali with him. The Frenchman responded in kind when Antonio Nibali launched an attack of his own shortly afterwards, and he led over the summit.

The break reformed on the long drop over the other side, but Gesbert continued his onslaught, eventually slipping clear with 15km to go in the company of Barcelo. Gesbert and Barcelo hit the base of the final ascent with 20 seconds in hand on their erstwhile companions and a minute on the peloton, but the gap began to drop rapidly once the climb began in earnest with 10km remaining.

Gesbert dropped Barcelo with 8km to go, but by then, it was clear that his was a forlorn effort. Accelerations from Zeits and Pernsteiner brought the peloton to within touching distance, and his adventure ended when Majka and Vincenzo Nibali attacked forcefully with 6km to go.

The race seemed to begin all over again at that point, as the principal contenders for overall honours began to test one another, but nobody could break clear on the ascent to Montagnaga. Masnada fought his way back into contention as the gradient eased, and then seized the moment when it presented itself.

Results :
1 Fausto Masnada (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 2:58:08
2 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:05
3 Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe
4 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
5 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Astana Pro Team
6 Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Gazprom–Rusvelo
7 Pavel Sivakov (Rus) Team Sky
8 Jan Hirt (Cze) Astana Pro Team
9 Roland Thalmann (Swi) Team Vorarlberg Santic
10 Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
11 Giovanni Carboni (Ita) Bardiani CSF
12 Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:15
13 Aldemar Reyes Ortega (Col) Manzana Postobon 0:00:27
14 Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
15 Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias
16 Hermann Pernsteiner (Aut) Bahrain-Merida
17 Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:50
18 Artem Nych (Rus) Gazprom–Rusvelo
19 Mikel Iturria Segurola (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias
20 Alexander Aranburu Deba (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
21 Alejandro Osorio Carvajal (Col) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane
22 Jérémy Maison (Fra) Arkéa Samsic
23 Andrea Garosio (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
24 Miguel Eduardo Florez Lopez (Col) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
25 Davide Gabburo (Ita) Neri Sottoli–Selle Italia–KTM 0:01:05
26 Pello Bilbao (Spa) Astana Pro Team 0:01:08
27 Stephan Rabitsch (Aut) Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels 0:01:15
28 Markus Wildauer (Aut) Tirol KTM Cycling Team
29 Julen Amezqueta Moreno (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:01:28
30 Luca Covili (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:01:36
31 Manuel Senni (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:01:54
32 Jose Manuel Diaz Gallego (Spa) Team Vorarlberg Santic 0:02:32
33 Simone Velasco (Ita) Neri Sottoli–Selle Italia–KTM 0:02:53
34 Benjamin Brkic (Aut) Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels
35 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
36 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Astana Pro Team
37 Fernando Barcelo Aragon (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias
38 Nikita Stalnov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
39 Alessandro Bisolti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:03:25
40 Georg Zimmermann (Ger) Tirol KTM Cycling Team 0:03:51
41 Federico Zurlo (Ita) Giotti Victoria
42 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
43 Dayer Quintana (Col) Neri Sottoli–Selle Italia–KTM
44 Michele Corradini (Ita) Italy
45 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:04:09
46 Davide Botta (Ita) Team Colpack
47 Patrick Schelling (Swi) Team Vorarlberg Santic
48 Elie Gesbert (Fra) Arkéa Samsic 0:04:17
49 Carlos Julian Quintero Noreña (Col) Manzana Postobon 0:05:21
50 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Sky
51 Antonio Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
52 Juan Antonio Lopez-Cozar Jaimez (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias
53 Kenny Elissonde (Fra) Team Sky 0:05:23
54 Aleksei Rybalkin (Rus) Gazprom–Rusvelo 0:06:02
55 Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale 0:08:01
56 Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:08:26
57 Evgeny Shalunov (Rus) Gazprom–Rusvelo 0:09:10
58 Sergei Shilov (Rus) Gazprom–Rusvelo
59 Nicola Bagioli (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane
60 Marco Tizza (Ita) Italy
61 Luca Raggio (Ita) Neri Sottoli–Selle Italia–KTM 0:11:14
62 Francesco Manuel Bongiorno (Ita) Neri Sottoli–Selle Italia–KTM
63 Juan Felipe Osorio Arboleda (Col) Manzana Postobon
64 Daniel Savini (Ita) Bardiani CSF
65 Gordian Banzer (Swi) Team Vorarlberg Santic
66 Juan Jose Amador Castaño (Col) Manzana Postobon 0:11:19
67 Joel Nicolau (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
68 Jonas Gregaard Wilsly (Den) Astana Pro Team
69 Maximilian Kuen (Aut) Team Vorarlberg Santic
70 Andrea Cacciotti (Ita) Italy
71 Tobias Bayer (Aut) Tirol KTM Cycling Team
72 Colin Chris Stüssi (Swi) Team Vorarlberg Santic
73 Francesco Romano (Ita) Bardiani CSF
74 Samuele Rivi (Ita) Tirol KTM Cycling Team
75 Umberto Orsini (Ita) Bardiani CSF
76 Alvaro Cuadros Morata (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
77 Andi Bajc (Slo) Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels
78 Ruben Dario Acosta Ospina (Col) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane
79 Matthias Krizek (Aut) Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels
80 Filippo Rocchetti (Ita) Team Colpack
81 Brice Feillu (Fra) Arkéa Samsic
82 Geoffrey Bouchard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
83 François Bidard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
84 Simone Sterbini (Ita) Giotti Victoria
85 Amael Moinard (Fra) Arkéa Samsic
86 Bernardo Albeiro Suaza Arango (Col) Manzana Postobon
87 Jhojan Orlando Garcia Sosa (Col) Manzana Postobon
88 Edoardo Zardini (Ita) Neri Sottoli–Selle Italia–KTM 0:12:13
89 Manuele Tarozzi (Ita) Italy
90 Antonio Santoro (Ita) Italy
91 Meiyin Wang (Chn) Bahrain-Merida
92 Sergio Samitier Samitier (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias
93 Evgeny Kobernyak (Rus) Gazprom–Rusvelo
94 Aritz Bagues Kalparsoro (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias 0:12:40
95 Damiano Cima (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane
96 Denis Marian Vulcan (Rom) Giotti Victoria 0:13:17
97 Emil Dima (Rom) Giotti Victoria 0:13:19
98 Luca Wackermann (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:13:22
99 Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
100 Juraj Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:14:32
101 Andrea Toniatti (Ita) Team Colpack
102 Nicolas Dalla Valle (Ita) Tirol KTM Cycling Team
103 Patrick Gamper (Aut) Tirol KTM Cycling Team
104 Florian Kierner (Aut) Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels
105 Giacomo Garavaglia (Ita) Team Colpack
106 Paul Double (GBr) Team Colpack
107 Omar El Gouzi (Ita) Tirol KTM Cycling Team
108 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane
109 Daniel Lehner (Aut) Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels
110 Emanuele Onesti (Ita) Giotti Victoria
111 Ivan Rovny (Rus) Gazprom–Rusvelo
112 Leonardo Basso (Ita) Team Sky
113 Gotzon Udondo Santamaria (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias
114 Matteo Busato (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:14:36
115 Jalel Duranti (Ita) Team Colpack 0:15:02
DSQ Marco Canola (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane
DSQ Simone Ravanelli (Ita) Italy
DNF Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Daniel Alexander Jaramillo Diez (Col) Manzana Postobon
DNF David Gonzalez Lopez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
DNF Matthias Mangertseder (Ger) Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels
DNF Ciprian Jitaru (Rom) Giotti Victoria
DNF Vlad-Nicolae Dobre (Rom) Giotti Victoria
DNS Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Neri Sottoli–Selle Italia–KTM

General Classification after Stage 3 :
1 Pavel Sivakov (Rus) Team Sky 11:27:08
2 Jan Hirt (Cze) Astana Pro Team 0:00:08
3 Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:00:23
4 Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:35
5 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:37
6 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:39
7 Hermann Pernsteiner (Aut) Bahrain-Merida 0:01:01
8 Roland Thalmann (Swi) Team Vorarlberg Santic 0:01:08
9 Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Gazprom–Rusvelo 0:01:24
10 Fausto Masnada (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:01:35
11 Giovanni Carboni (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:01:47
12 Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky 0:01:54
13 Pello Bilbao (Spa) Astana Pro Team 0:01:56
14 Miguel Eduardo Florez Lopez (Col) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:02:01
15 Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:02:25
16 Mikel Iturria Segurola (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias 0:02:37
17 Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:02:43
18 Davide Gabburo (Ita) Neri Sottoli–Selle Italia–KTM 0:02:47
19 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:02:58
20 Nikita Stalnov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:03:50
21 Jérémy Maison (Fra) Arkéa Samsic 0:03:53
22 Artem Nych (Rus) Gazprom–Rusvelo 0:04:26
23 Julen Amezqueta Moreno (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:04:36
24 Aldemar Reyes Ortega (Col) Manzana Postobon 0:05:16
25 Alejandro Osorio Carvajal (Col) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane 0:05:39
26 Dayer Quintana (Col) Neri Sottoli–Selle Italia–KTM 0:05:47
27 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:06:07
28 Luca Covili (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:06:26
29 Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias 0:06:40
30 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:06:44
31 Georg Zimmermann (Ger) Tirol KTM Cycling Team 0:07:31
32 Andrea Garosio (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:08:10
33 Benjamin Brkic (Aut) Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels 0:08:13
34 Federico Zurlo (Ita) Giotti Victoria 0:08:30
35 Aleksei Rybalkin (Rus) Gazprom–Rusvelo 0:09:05
36 Antonio Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:09:51
37 Simone Velasco (Ita) Neri Sottoli–Selle Italia–KTM 0:10:13
38 Jose Manuel Diaz Gallego (Spa) Team Vorarlberg Santic 0:10:23
39 Patrick Schelling (Swi) Team Vorarlberg Santic 0:11:37
40 Carlos Julian Quintero Noreña (Col) Manzana Postobon 0:12:41
41 Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:13:24
42 Kenny Elissonde (Fra) Team Sky 0:13:40
43 Stephan Rabitsch (Aut) Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels 0:14:27
44 Daniel Savini (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:15:29
45 Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale 0:15:52
46 Alessandro Bisolti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:16:11
47 Alexander Aranburu Deba (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:16:21
48 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:16:55
49 Edoardo Zardini (Ita) Neri Sottoli–Selle Italia–KTM 0:17:07
50 Francesco Romano (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:18:39
51 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:19:24
52 Amael Moinard (Fra) Arkéa Samsic 0:19:29
53 François Bidard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:20:38
54 Davide Botta (Ita) Team Colpack 0:21:11
55 Gordian Banzer (Swi) Team Vorarlberg Santic 0:21:37
56 Fernando Barcelo Aragon (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias 0:22:04
57 Elie Gesbert (Fra) Arkéa Samsic 0:22:27
58 Jhojan Orlando Garcia Sosa (Col) Manzana Postobon 0:23:34
59 Geoffrey Bouchard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:24:05
60 Luca Raggio (Ita) Neri Sottoli–Selle Italia–KTM 0:24:31
61 Umberto Orsini (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:25:02
62 Manuel Senni (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:25:20
63 Markus Wildauer (Aut) Tirol KTM Cycling Team 0:25:32
64 Sergei Shilov (Rus) Gazprom–Rusvelo 0:26:16
65 Sergio Samitier Samitier (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias 0:26:29
66 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Sky 0:26:43
67 Colin Chris Stüssi (Swi) Team Vorarlberg Santic 0:26:52
68 Luca Wackermann (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:26:56
69 Paul Double (GBr) Team Colpack 0:27:18
70 Jonas Gregaard Wilsly (Den) Astana Pro Team 0:28:21
71 Ruben Dario Acosta Ospina (Col) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane
72 Nicola Bagioli (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane 0:28:46
73 Juan Felipe Osorio Arboleda (Col) Manzana Postobon 0:29:44
74 Michele Corradini (Ita) Italy 0:30:06
75 Antonio Santoro (Ita) Italy 0:30:34
76 Francesco Manuel Bongiorno (Ita) Neri Sottoli–Selle Italia–KTM 0:30:41
77 Joel Nicolau (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:30:55
78 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane 0:31:38
79 Tobias Bayer (Aut) Tirol KTM Cycling Team 0:32:23
80 Evgeny Shalunov (Rus) Gazprom–Rusvelo 0:33:06
81 Matteo Busato (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:33:41
82 Bernardo Albeiro Suaza Arango (Col) Manzana Postobon 0:33:44
83 Juan Antonio Lopez-Cozar Jaimez (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias 0:33:56
84 Andi Bajc (Slo) Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels 0:34:32
85 Nicolas Dalla Valle (Ita) Tirol KTM Cycling Team 0:35:01
86 Marco Tizza (Ita) Italy 0:35:25
87 Filippo Rocchetti (Ita) Team Colpack 0:36:05
88 Denis Marian Vulcan (Rom) Giotti Victoria 0:36:52
89 Andrea Cacciotti (Ita) Italy 0:37:34
90 Maximilian Kuen (Aut) Team Vorarlberg Santic
91 Samuele Rivi (Ita) Tirol KTM Cycling Team 0:38:10
92 Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:38:18
93 Matthias Krizek (Aut) Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels 0:39:04
94 Ivan Rovny (Rus) Gazprom–Rusvelo 0:40:01
95 Daniel Lehner (Aut) Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels 0:40:47
96 Andrea Toniatti (Ita) Team Colpack 0:40:58
97 Alvaro Cuadros Morata (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:42:06
98 Damiano Cima (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane 0:42:27
99 Manuele Tarozzi (Ita) Italy 0:42:31
100 Brice Feillu (Fra) Arkéa Samsic 0:42:42
101 Meiyin Wang (Chn) Bahrain-Merida 0:42:54
102 Juan Jose Amador Castaño (Col) Manzana Postobon 0:43:07
103 Patrick Gamper (Aut) Tirol KTM Cycling Team 0:43:12
104 Giacomo Garavaglia (Ita) Team Colpack 0:43:21
105 Emil Dima (Rom) Giotti Victoria 0:43:25
106 Evgeny Kobernyak (Rus) Gazprom–Rusvelo 0:43:36
107 Aritz Bagues Kalparsoro (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias 0:43:52
108 Florian Kierner (Aut) Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels 0:44:09
109 Omar El Gouzi (Ita) Tirol KTM Cycling Team 0:44:27
110 Jalel Duranti (Ita) Team Colpack 0:44:57
111 Simone Sterbini (Ita) Giotti Victoria 0:45:52
112 Juraj Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:46:20
113 Emanuele Onesti (Ita) Giotti Victoria 0:49:05
114 Gotzon Udondo Santamaria (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias 0:49:34
115 Leonardo Basso (Ita) Team Sky 0:53:52