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Giro Stage 10 Race Report: Biniam Girmay showed his best sprint to beat Mathieu van der Poel at the end of a tough final 20 kilometres of stage 10 to Jesi. The finalé was an exciting toe-to-toe battle of the top men with the Eritrean making history again.
Watch the most comprehensive live & ad-free coverage of the Giro d’Italia 2022 on GCN+. Go deeper and get interactive with live polls & quizzes, plus rider profiles, race updates, results & more – plus stream original and exclusive cycling documentaries. Watch it all with GCN+ on any device.
The final K of stage 10
A giro stage win to add to Biniam Girmay’s palmarès
Biniam Girmay won the tenth stage of the Giro d’Italia. In Jesi, the Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Eritrean, winner of Gent-Wevelgem, held off Mathieu van der Poel in the sprint from a thinned out peloton.
Is it a day for Mathieu van der Poel?
The Route:
The stage is clearly divided into two parts. It begins pan-flat along the Statale Adriatica, where the main obstacles along the course are the ones typically found in urban areas. Conversely, in the second half, the route takes in a succession of mild and steep ascents or even ‘walls’, with no pause for breath. As the profile changes, the roads become narrower and steeper, and slightly damaged at points. The course then takes in consecutive ascents to Civitanova Alta (up to Crocette di Montecosaro), Recanati, Filottrano, Santa Maria Nova and Monsano. Past Monsano, the finish will be just 9km away.
Final kilometres
The route drops down quickly on wide roads into Jesi, with approximately 1,400m to go. A right-hander leads into the home straight, on an average 2% incline.
A special Astana bottle for Michele Scarponi
On the route to the finish in Jesi, the race crossed Filottrano as a tribute to Michele Scarponi. An intermediate sprint was also in the hometown of the climber who died in 2017.
Alejandro Valverde’s bike
The jersey leaders at the start in Pescara
The battle for the break of the day came right from the gun and the pace was immediately high. A leading group with three men formed with Lawrence Naesen (AG2R Citroën), Mattia Bais (Drone Hopper) and Alessandro De Marchi (Israel-Premier Tech), the peloton then eased off. The escape worked hard to get as much of a lead as possible and had 6 minutes after 55 kilometres. The peloton slowly but surely accelerated and the difference started to shrink.
A much warmer day on the Giro
Alpecin-Fenix and Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert, for Mathieu van der Poel and Biniam Girmay, rode at the front of the peloton. Lotto Soudal were also seen for Caleb Ewan. In Civitanova Marche the lead was 4:30 as the hilly second half of the stage started. Christopher Juul-Jensen broke away from the large group on the climb of Civitanova Alta. The BikeExchange-Jayco rider, a teammate of Simon Yates, eventually had to drop back to the bunch.
The break of the day: Mattia Bais, Alessandro De Marchi and Lawrence Naesen
Caleb Ewan ran into problems with 78 kilometres to go, he and his team thought he had a chance for victory on this stage. At the same time Richard Carapaz crashed. The INEOS Grenadiers leader, fourth overall, fell into the grass, but was quickly able to regain the peloton. After Juul-Jensen had tried it alone for a while on the climb of Civitanova Alta, Astana’s David De la Cruz also tried to get away. The Spaniard’s escape attempt on the Recanati climb was also short-lived.
Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux (and Alpecin-Fenix) were controlling the race for Biniam Girmay
With 55 kilometres to go, the lead had shrunk to about 2:30, Mathieu van der Poel had a problem with his derailleur and had to change bikes. The peloton continued at a fast pace, but Van der Poel was able to return quickly after a short chase between the cars. At 42 kilometres, the race passed through Filottrano were there were large banners with images of Scarponi. Michele, semper con noi. Always with us.
Filottrano was out for Scarponi
The Giro train
After Filottrano, the peloton, led by Alpecin-Fenix and Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert, headed for the final climbs of the day. On the climb of Santa Maria Nuova, De Marchi put the pressure on, but Naesen and Bais were initially able to get back to his wheel. De Marchi got away with his next attack. His lead over the peloton was only 1 minute. On the climb Juul-Jensen tried again, but he had a teammate of Van der Poel’s and one from Girmay on his wheel.
A hot day out front
Chris Juul-Jensen tried to cross to the break
Juul-Jensen’s attack was neutralised, after which Alpecin-Fenix and Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert took control again. After Naesen and Bais had been caught, De Marchi’s solo was also over with 20 kilometres to go. The race snaked to the last climb of the day, that of Monsano (4.2km at 4.2%, max. 11%). Several teams moved forward, including Groupama-FDJ, who wanted Arnaud Démare to start the climb from the front. At the foot of the climb, Jos van Emden launched an attack for Tobias Foss and the Norwegian champion opened up a gap.
Alpecin-Fenix kept the pace high, but not fast enough to catch the break too early
Montefano joining in the Giro fun
However, Alpecin-Fenix overtook Foss for the steepest sections. INEOS Grenadiers pushed hard at a kilometre from the top. Pavel Sivakov kept up a high pace with teammate Richard Carapaz on his wheel which put Démare in trouble, along with many other riders. On the steep part of the climb, Alessandro Covi attacked, but the Italian didn’t get far. With all the attacks, the peloton had thinned considerably by the time they reached the summit. Just after the top, the attacks continued, but Van der Poel brought everything back together. But not for long.
Not Tuscany, but similar
The break wasn’t going to succeed
On the descent, at the hands of Simon Yates, an elite group came together with Mathieu van der Poel, Giulio Ciccone and Davide Formolo. Van der Poel also tried to go solo, but with kilometres from the finish everything was back together. Then Richard Carapaz and Hugh Carthy also tried in vain to escape. In the end, a sprint would make the decision. Girmay started the sprint and Van der Poel was behind him. The Eritrean and the Dutchman rode side-by-side for a while, but the leader of Alpecin-Fenix had to sit down and Girmay took the victory.
Alpecin-Fenix put the hammer down for Van der Poel
A strong lead-out in the final from Pozzovivo
A strong sprint form Girmay saw Van der Poel off
Stage winner, Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux): “I started the Giro with the desire to win a stage. Everyone from the team pulled for me today, even the GC riders, Domenico Pozzovivo was amazing at the end. At 600m to go, he said: ‘come’. He pushed me to go and win. I realise I’m making history but it’s thanks to my team and my family. I’m really grateful to them.”
Another big win for Girmay, Eritrea and Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
Maglia Rosa Juan Pedro López Perez (Trek-Segafredo): “It felt like a race for GC today. Nobody expected a race like this. It was very hard. I’m glad I managed to retain the Maglia Rosa. I realised from the road side it was a stage dedicated to Michele Scarponi. It was touching.”
Two great champions
Biniam Girmay was taken to hospital after the podium ceremony. The stage winner was injured after he tried to open the champagne bottle and shot the cork in his eye. According to media at the finish, he couldn’t see through his left eye.
Eye injury for Girmay on the podium
Giro d’Italia Stage 10 Result:
1. Biniam Girmay (Eri) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux in 4:32:07
2. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Fenix
3. Vincenzo Albanese (Ita) EOLO-Kometa
4. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) BORA-hansgrohe
5. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) INEOS Grenadiers
6. Koen Bouwman (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
7. Romain Bardet (Fra) DSM
8. Pello Bilbao (Spa) Bahrain-Victorious
9. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates
10. Mauro Schmid (Swi) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl.
Giro d’Italia Overall After Stage 10:
1. Juan Pedro López (Spa) Trek-Segafredo in 37:52:01
2. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates at 0:12
3. Romain Bardet (Fra) DSM at 0:14
4. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:15
5. Jai Hindley (Aus) BORA-hansgrohe at 0:20
6. Guillaume Martin (Fra) Cofidis at 0:28
7. Mikel Landa (Spa) Bahrain-Victorious at 0:29
8. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux at 0:54
9. Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) BORA-hansgrohe at 1:09
10. Pello Bilbao (Spa) Bahrain-Victorious at 1:22.
Watch the most comprehensive live & ad-free coverage of the Giro d’Italia 2022 on GCN+. Go deeper and get interactive with live polls & quizzes, plus rider profiles, race updates, results & more – plus stream original and exclusive cycling documentaries. Watch it all with GCN+ on any device.
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