Going strong two weeks into the Giro d'Italia

On the second rest day of this year’s Giro d’Italia, Jonathan Milan is still solidly leading the points standings and wearing the Maglia Ciclamino. In stage 15, Team BAHRAIN Victorious also managed to extend its lead in the team classification by 20 minutes, and with Damiano Caruso in 6th on GC the chances for a podium result in Rome are still intact.

The 106th edition of the Giro d’Italia has been plagued by lots of rain and cold temperatures and a return of the Covid virus to the peloton. Despite a peak in drop-outs due to these two factors, Team BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS has managed to keep the virus out and all of its riders healthy and in the race. Keep in mind the team had been forced to call up Yukiya Arashiro as a last-minute replacement for Gino Mäder, who had tested positive for Covid just before the start of the race. From the team’s perspective, Jonathan Milan’s stage win on day 2 of the race was the first great highlight. The Italian has been wearing the Maglia Ciclamino as the leader of the points standings ever since and for a full 14 days - a great experience for such a young rider on home turf.

Jonathan Milan solidified his lead with three 2nd place finishes in bunch sprints, getting beaten by another rider every time. His third runner-up result at the end of the longest stage of this year’s edition was particularly spectacular as Milan entered the 800 meters long finish straight in Tortona outside the top10 and flew past 10 riders only to be edged out by Pascal Ackermann by a very narrow margin. As for the team classification, Team BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS has been relying on the trifecta of Damiano Caruso, Jack Haig and Santiago Buitrago in the mountains to get into a top 3 position. Thanks to Andrea Pasqualon and Jasha Sütterlin's infiltrating breakaways that made it all the way to the finish, the team managed to move up into the lead and extend the margin to a hefty 27 minutes.

As for the GC of this Giro d’Italia, Team BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS still has good chances for a podium spot in Rome, as Damiano Caruso is currently sitting in 6th place. Since he looks to be in great shape and can build on his vast experience and the support of his team, he should be one of the riders to watch in the third week of the race. Apart from two mainly flat stages for sprinters, the final week of the 106th edition of the Giro d’Italia will serve up no less than three mountaintop finishes at iconic sites such as Monte Bondone and the Tre Cime di Lavaredo and the hard climbing time trial to Monte Lussari. In short: Nothing has been decided yet, and the riders of Team BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS still have a lot of work ahead of them in the third week of the race. But after two weeks, there is ample reason to be proud of the riders in red, orange and black.

106TH GIRO D’ITALIA, STAGE 11: CAMAIORE - TORTONA, 219KM
1. Pascal Ackermann, GER, in 5:09.02 hours
2. Jonathan Milan, ITA/TEAM BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS, st
3. Mark Cavendish, GBR, st

POINTS STANDINGS AFTER 15 STAGES
1. Jonathan Milan, ITA/TEAM BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS, 164 points
2. Derek Gee, CAN, 112 points
3. Pascal Ackermann, GER, 88 points

TEAM CLASSIFICATION AFTER 15 STAGES
1. TEAM BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS, BHR, in 184:21.09 hours
2. EF Education-Easy post, USA, + 27.23
3. Israel - Premier Tech, ISR, + 27.52

Photos: Sprint Cycling Agency