The second week of racing ended with a demanding 195 km stage that involved several loops around Bergamo. There was hardly a breather between the four categorised climbs, and the finale was also a challenge. Four kilometres before the finish, there was another steep climb in the old town of Bergamo, partly on cobblestones, before the last three kilometres led downhill to the finish. On the flat part at the beginning of the stage there was a hard fight for the escape group, with 17 riders successfully breaking away from the peloton. The field took it easy and at the bottom of the last climb the lead of the reduced leading group was still more than 6 minutes, and it was clear that the victory would go to one of the escapees. In the end B. McNulty took the day's win. There were no attacks in the group of favourites until the very last climb in Bergamo, where a small group including the likes of G. Thomas and P. Roglic attacked. A chasing group containing Lennard Kämna was a few seconds behind, but managed to get closer again near the finish. In the end, Lennard lost two seconds in the general classification today, but thus keeps his seventh overall place before tomorrow's second rest day.
Result
01 B. McNulty 5:13:39
02 B. Healy +0:00
03 M. Frigo +0:00
24 L. Kämna +6:55
From the Finish Line
"It was a tough and hot day and I'm glad I came through it pretty well. My teammates provided really good support. Some other GC riders and I lost contact with the group of favourites on the last hill but we fought back and could almost close the gap at the finish straight. Overall I only lost two seconds, so we kept that in check." - Lennard Kämna
"There was finally sunshine on the route today, but also 4000 metres of altitude to contend with. FDJ wanted to defend the jersey and set a hard pace in the peloton. On the very last hill, another pre-selection came and the moves were made. I think we did quite well and really deserved tomorrow's rest day. The next week will of course be very decisive for the overall standings but we are ready. Our goal was for Lenni to be up there overall and so far it doesn't look too bad. We are just looking ahead now. The last week will be quite hard, it's not about 10 or 20 seconds, it's about minutes." - Patrick Konrad
"It was a pretty tough stage today. As expected, it was a breakaway day but our main task was to fully support Lenni and we did that well. I also wanted to say that Cesare did a particularly strong job after a week where he wasn't 100% fit, so chapeau. Before last week here, things are looking pretty good. Lenni lost a few seconds today but I think we have everything well in hand." - Enrico Gasparotto, Sporting Director