The 19th stage of the Giro d'Italia was an epic battle, with Jai Hindley finishing in third place and Jonas Vingegaard retaining the leader's pink jersey. The stage was a 151-kilometre ride from Feltre to Alleghe (Piani di Pezzè), featuring almost 5,000 metres of climbing across the Dolomites. It was a tough day for everyone, with Hindley praising the selfless sacrifice of his teammate, Giulio Pellizzari.
Hindley finished sixth on the stage, with American rider Sepp Kuss (Visma | lease-a-bike) claiming the stage victory. Kuss completed a grand tour clean sweep, just ahead of the Lidl-Trek pairing of Derek Gee-West and Giulio Ciccone. Second-ranked Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) finished fourth, with the same time as race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | lease-a-bike), 4 seconds ahead of Hindley.
Hindley's performance was impressive, considering the tough conditions and the presence of GC guys in the breakaway group. Pellizzari, who came into the race as co-leader with Hindley, suffered badly in the early stages due to illness, losing time in the Alps. However, he made a selfless sacrifice, taking an almighty turn on the front of the group of favourites to give Hindley the ramp to put his chief rivals under pressure.
Hindley expressed his gratitude to Pellizzari, saying, "It's really not taken for granted what he did today. Giulio lost his GC chances, so it is nice that after such a race he can still switch gears and sacrifice himself for me. I know it's not been the easiest race for him also mentally but [I'm] really grateful for what he's done, and also the rest of the boys. We haven't had the smoothest Giro, with some illness and whatnot. The guys have been incredible."
Thymen Arensman (Netcompany-Ineos) suffered on the final climb, losing over a minute to Hindley, and ultimately surrendering his spot on the podium. Hindley now has one final stage in the Dolomites to hold onto his podium place before the procession in Rome on Sunday, sitting 5:04 behind Vingegaard, and 1:01 behind second-placed Gall.
Michael Storer (Tudor) remains in seventh place, despite an impressive ride in the day's breakaway, finishing 10th on the stage. However, Ben O'Connor (Jayco AlUla) wilted on the steep ramps, losing 9 minutes and 36 seconds on the stage, slipping to 14th on the overall standings, 18 minutes 17 seconds off the lead.
The final stage will be a 131km stage in Rome, which will be expected to have no impact on the general classification and will be largely processional until the final sprint. The race is now down to the final stages, with Hindley and Pellizzari's efforts setting the stage for the final showdown.
