Fredrik Dversnes wins Giro d'Italia stage 15; final lap neutralized

Fredrik Dversnes won the 15th stage of the Giro d’Italia on Sunday, taking the honours from a breakaway on a day in which the final lap of Milan was neutralised due to rider complaints about the race conditions.

Norwegian Dversnes crossed the line in front of three Italians – Mirco Maestri, Martin Marcellusi and Mattia Bais – as a widely expected bunch sprint failed to materialise.

Jonas Vingegaard stayed in pink as the overall race leader, two minutes and 26 seconds ahead of Afonso Eulálio after a surprising end to a flat 157 kilometres from Voghera to Milan, which looked tailor-made for the sprinters.

But race organisers were left with the embarrassing decision to first neutralise the final five kilometres for the general classification after Vingegaard was among the riders to complain to race commissioners about the road furniture. That ruling was then extended to the entire fourth and final lap around Milan, although the stage and eventual sprint would still be valid.

“We all thought that the circuit was dangerous. I don’t want to go into details but when we got into the circuit we spoke to the race’s head commissioner and they made a decision,” Vingegaard told RAI after the race. “As riders we have to be happy that they listened to us and I want to thank the organisers. Obviously we spoke within the peloton. If it had just been me who felt this way it would have been different. But I could tell that everyone was of the same idea, so I think I had a bit of responsibility on my shoulders.”

It was the biggest win of his career for Dversnes, who rides for Uno-X Mobility and whose last victory was in the fourth stage of the Arctic Race of Norway in August. “I knew I had good opportunities because I’m pretty good at going in breaks, so this was my big shot,” Dversnes said after the race. “With 5km to go, of course you start believing, but you have to think about what to do and what’s important and not about what happens.”

The peloton will have a chance to rest their legs on Monday before the start of the brutal third and final week, which will decide the destination of the pink jersey. On Tuesday, the first of a series of decisive mountain stages will see the riders move to Switzerland to take on 113km of punishing terrain between Bellinzona and Cari.