Italian cyclist Enrico Battaglin of Bardiani wins the fourth stage of the 96th Giro d’Italia cycling race from Policastro Bussentino to San Serra Bruno, Italy, yesterday.
SERRA SAN BRUNO, Italy: Enrico Battaglin claimed his maiden Giro d’Italia stage yesterday with fellow Italian Luca Paolini retaining the leader’s pink jersey and race favourite Bradley Wiggins losing time after an epic 246km of racing from Policastro to Serra San Bruno.
Battaglin, who rides for the Bardiani team, surged out of a small group of survivors from the day’s second and last climb to sprint to a well-earned victory after nearly 6hr 15min of racing to the southernmost point of the Giro’s 96th edition.
Minutes earlier, Danilo Di Luca, the Giro winner in 2007, belied his 37 years to launch an audacious attack towards the end of the final climb and race into the lead with young Colombian Robinson Chalapud on his wheel.
The pair came over the summit with barely 20secs on the main peloton but, despite Di Luca’s efforts on the rain-hit finale, they were agonisingly caught inside the final kilometre.
Katusha veteran Paolini, who took the race lead with victory on stage three on Monday, was just behind and crossed the finish line in the company of overall victory hopefuls Vincenzo Nibali, Cadel Evans and Ryder Hesjedal.
“I’m glad to still have the pink jersey but it was a tough day of racing,” said Paolini.
Main race favourite, Team Sky leader Wiggins, however, lost time to his main rivals in the run-in.
Tour de France and Olympic champion Wiggins was held up by a crash involving Italian Cristian Salerno on the approach to the final kilometre. Race rules normally dictate that riders caught up in such incidents in the final three kilometres are not penalised.
However the race jury said after the stage that Wiggins had not been hindered by the crash, thus attributing him with his actual finishing time.
“The crash was inside three kilometres to go so hopefully they will recognise that,” Sky’s Sports director Marcus Ljungvist told Teamsky.com.
“It’s one of those things that happens in bike racing. It’s certainly not the end of the world.”
Wiggins began the race’s second-longest stage in second place overall at 17sec.
But despite a dominant display of riding by his Sky team on the 12.8km climb to the Croce Ferrata summit and, notably, the treacherous 7km descent to the finish, he lost time to his rivals, which could prove costly.
Former Tour of Spain winner Nibali (Astana) turned his 14sec overnight deficit to Wiggins into a 3sec lead, while both Hesjedal and, notably, Evans, also claimed back lost time.
“Everything was good today and that’s a good indicator,” said Evans, who had a strong finish also on Monday, a day after losing time in the team time-trial.
“Most importantly, I got through the stage without any trouble or time loss.”
Paolini now leads another Team Sky rider, Colombian Rigoberto Uran, by 17sec with Nibali at 31sec, Hesjedal and Wiggins fifth and sixth respectively at 34sec and Evans sitting 10th at 42sec.
Today’s fifth stage is held over 205 km from Cosenza to Matera .
Although today’s route is mainly flat, it ends on an uphill which will suit the ‘punchers’ and other specialist climbers of the peloton. AFP
