Giro d'Italia: Davide Formolo wins stage four as Simon Clarke hits front
Peloton blown to pieces on action-packed day
Last Updated: 13/05/15 5:11pm
Alberto Contador and Richie Porte both survived an action-packed fourth stage of the Giro d’Italia as Davide Formolo won solo and Orica-GreenEdge’s Simon Clarke replaced team-mate Michael Matthews in the overall lead.
Formolo (Cannondale-Garmin) formed part of large breakaway group early in the day but mounted a lone attack just before the final climb, a little over 13km from the finish in La Spezia, and hung on to win by 22 seconds.
A peloton vastly thinned down by a hilly and aggressive day’s racing caught the rest of the breakaway on the descent to the line and then sprinted for second place, with Clarke edging out Yonathan Monsalve (Southeast) to ensure he moved from second to first in the general classification.
Previous leader Matthews was the biggest casualty of an unexpectedly eventful stage, finishing 20 minutes down after being dropped when the peloton was blown to pieces in the opening kilometres.
Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) remains six seconds ahead of Fabio Aru (Astana) and 20 seconds in front of Richie Porte (Team Sky) after all three avoided time losses to finish in the main bunch, but Rigoberto Uran (Etixx – Quick-Step) lost 1min 4sec after being distanced on the final climb.
Formolo, 22, is regarded as one of the brightest young prospects in Italian cycling and enhanced his reputation by catching out his breakaway rivals with an astutely timed and ultimately successful attack on the flat just before the last climb.
He said afterwards: “Today we went full gas. We did the first climb with good power and good rhythm and the bunch was broken.
“I tried to go on a breakaway on the second last climb, but another four riders caught me. I tried again on the last climb and luckily I hung on to the finish. Amazing.”
Clarke added: “You saw the emotion crossing the line. I was just stoked to keep the jersey in the team.”
The Giro continues on Wednesday with a 152km fifth stage starting in La Spezia and ending with the first of the race's six summit finishes, a 17.3km, category-two ascent to Abetone.
Stage four result
1 Davide Formolo (Ita) Cannondale-Garmin, 3:47:59
2 Simon Clarke (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge, +22secs
3 Yonathan Monsalve (Col) Southeast, same time
4 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar, st
5 Johan Esteban Chaves (Col) Orica-GreenEdge, st
6 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana, st
7 Amael Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing, st
8 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Astana, st
9 Alberto Contador (Esp) Tinkoff-Saxo, st
10 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky, st
General classification
1 Simon Clarke (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge, 11:54:48
2 Johan Esteban Chaves (Col) Orica-GreenEdge, +10secs
3 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Tinkoff-Saxo, +17
4 Alberto Contador (Esp) Tinkoff-Saxo, same time
5 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana, +23
6 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Astana, st
7 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar, +29
8 Amael Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing, +31
9 Davide Formolo (Ita) Cannondale-Garmin, st
10 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky, +38
