News: Another stage win for Tao Geoghegan Hart

On a very memorable day in the 2020 Giro d’Italia, Tao Geoghegan Hart won his second stage in the race and now is now equal on time with Aussie Jai Hindley with one stage to go.

News: Another stage win for Tao Geoghegan Hart

On a very memorable day in the Giro d’Italia, Tao Geoghegan Hart won his second stage in the race and now is now equal on time with Aussie Jai Hindley with one stage to go.

Tao Geoghegan Hart struck a blow in the fight for Giro d’Italia victory by winning stage 20 atop Sestriere. The Brit showed his class on the race’s final day of climbing to out-sprint chief rival Jai Hindley at the line, with bonus seconds meaning the pair head into the final time trial level on time.

In what looks set to be one of the closest Giro finishes in history, Tao’s second stage win sets up a final-day, winner-takes-all showdown in Milan. Just tenths of a second separate the two riders, with Hindley (Team Sunweb) narrowly pulling on the maglia rosa.

Once again the INEOS Grenadiers impressed in the mountains, with Salvatore Puccio, Filippo Ganna and Jonathan Castroviejo upping the tempo, before Rohan Dennis once again detonated the peloton on the second ascent of Sestriere.

Mirroring his performance of two days earlier, only Geoghegan Hart and Hindley were able to follow the Aussie, as overnight leader Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb) was quickly dropped, eventually losing 1:35. For his efforts, Dennis was also able to finish third on the stage, raising his arms as he crossed the line.

Tao Geoghegan Hart: “It was a spectacular day in the sun with an amazing team. We stuck to our plan and I think it went pretty well. I’m pretty happy. It was about finishing off the work the boys have done and I’m super happy to have done that. I felt good the whole way [up the final climb]. I was pretty focused on the bonus seconds at the end and my race”.

“It’s a bike race. Anything can happen [tomorrow], especially after 20 days of racing in tough conditions. We’ll see how it goes – I’ll do my best and I can’t change anything beyond that. I’m very happy for myself, for my team and for the Giro: today was a beautiful day! Tomorrow’s time trial will be a matter of legs, the route is short, I hope to have a good day and a bit of luck, then we will see”.

Jai Hindley: “I’m speechless. It’s something I’ve dreamed about since I was a little boy, you know? To wear the leader’s jersey in a Grand Tour is an incredible privilege, and… yeah, it’s not ideal to take it off Wilco, but it’s nice to keep it in the team. I’m lost for words”.

“I saw [Tao] wasn’t looking super great at first on the climb, and I was thinking I was going to be able to get rid of him, and try and put time into him, but I just didn’t have it in my legs. I was trying everything when I was attacking but I just couldn’t get rid of him so then I tried to beat him in the sprint but, yeah, he was just too strong.”

“I don’t know [about the time trial]. I’m going to give it my best tomorrow and see how it goes, but, regardless of the result, I’m happy with how I’ve been riding and I’m super happy with how the team has ridden this Giro.”

Special mentions too for James Knox, 10th on the stage and 14th overall despite working himself into the ground for his team leader and former Pink jersey, Joao Almeida. Also, Matthew Holmes did it again with a spot in the breakaway and finishing the stage in 19th place.

STAGE
1. Tao Geoghegan Hart INEOS Grenadiers 04:52:45
2. Jai Hindley Youth jerseyLeader jersey Team Sunweb @ 00
3. Rohan Dennis INEOS Grenadiers @ 25
4. Joao Almeida Deceuninck-Quick Step @ 01:01
5. Andrea Vendrame AG2R La Mondiale @ 01:34
6. Einer Rubio Movistar Team @ 01:35
7. Pello Bilbao Bahrain-McLaren @ 01:35
8. Wilco Kelderman Team Sunweb @ 01:35
9. Attila Valter CCC Team @ 01:48
10. James Knox Deceuninck-Quick Step @ 02:00

11. Vincenzo Nibali Trek-Segafredo @ 02:02
19. Matthew Holmes Lotto Soudal @ 02:41
33. Ben Swift INEOS Grenadiers @ 08:03
123. Alex Dowsett Israel Start-Up Nation @ 35:33
130. Jonathan Dibben Lotto Soudal @ 36:24
133. Albert Torres Movistar Team @ 36:33

OVERALL
1 Jai Hindley Team Sunweb 85:22:07
2 Tao Geoghegan Hart INEOS Grenadiers @ 00
3 Wilco Kelderman Team Sunweb @ 01:32
4 Pello Bilbao Bahrain-McLaren @ 02:51
5 Joao Almeida Deceuninck-Quick Step @ 03:14
6 Jakob Fuglsang Astana Pro Team @ 06:32
7 Vincenzo Nibali Trek-Segafredo @ 07:46
8 Patrick Konrad Bora – Hansgrohe @ 08:05
9 Fausto Masnada Deceuninck-Quick Step @ 09:24
10 Hermann Pernsteiner Bahrain-McLaren @ 10:08

14 James Knox Deceuninck-Quick Step @ 36:46
18 Ben Swift INEOS Grenadiers @ 57:11