PASSO BROCON, Italy (AP) — Georg Steinhauser soloed to his first professional victory on the brutal 17th stage of the Giro d’Italia as overall leader Tadej Pogacar extended his already considerable advantage to nearly eight minutes.
Steinhauser was full of smiles over the final 400 meters as he knew he was riding to the biggest success of his career on his grand tour debut. The young German then shook his head in disbelief before sitting up and raising his arms above his head as he crossed the summit finish at Passo Brocon.
The 22-year-old Steinhauser has a strong cycling pedigree. His father Tobias was also a professional cyclist, while his uncle Jan Ullrich won the Tour de France as well as the Spanish Vuelta.
Pogacar had threatened to spoil his day with a late attack but in the end he finished one minute, 24 seconds behind Steinhauser. Antonio Tiberi led a reduced gap of GC contenders over the line for third, 1:42 behind.
Two-time Tour de France winner Pogacar nevertheless extended his lead to 7:42 over Daniel Martinez and 8:04 over Geraint Thomas..
There was none of the drama and chaos of the previous day but the weather was still wet and freezing in parts on a tough day in the Dolomites.
Apart from one short stretch, the riders were constantly climbing or descending on the 159-kilometer (99-mile) route from Selva di Val Gardena, with four classified climbs before the top category ascent to the finish on the Passo Brocon.
Steinhauser had been part of the first breakaway of the day but they were caught by the peloton. Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier then set off on his own toward the top of the third climb, with 60 kilometers remaining, and he was followed by Steinhauser.
And Steinhauser attacked near the top of the first ascent of the Passo Brocon, on the penultimate climb of the day, to solo to victory on the final 34 kilometers.
Thursday’s 18th stage offers some respite from the mountains as it is a mainly flat, 178-kilometer route from Fiera di Primiero to Padua that should end in a sprint finish.
The Giro ends in Rome on Sunday.
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AP cycling: https://apnews.com/hub/cycling
