Froome wins Giro d'Italia

Froome wins Giro d'Italia
Team Sky (Italy) – Chris Froome crossed the line in Rome to seal a momentous overall victory at the 2018 Giro d’Italia.

The Team Sky rider becomes only the third rider in history to hold all three Grand Tour titles at the same time, after claiming a Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana double last season.

The first British winner of the Italian Grand Tour, Froome finished the Giro resplendent in the maglia rosa, flanked by his team-mates with an eventual winning margin of 46 seconds.

After a tough start to the three-week event, Froome and Team Sky turned the general classification on its head on stage 19 with a memorable 80-kilometre solo attack. It was here that Froome transformed a deficit of three minutes and 22 seconds into a race-winning foothold. An emphatic performance on Saturday’s 20th stage saw Froome fend off any remaining challengers, before the ceremonial run around the Italian capital.

Froome enjoyed unwavering support across the 21 stages, with seven team-mates all stepping up to play vital roles in a historic victory. David de la Cruz, Kenny Elissonde and Sergio Henao put in stellar climbing performances across the race, while Christian Knees completed a treble of his own, supporting Froome in each of his three latest Grand Tour successes. Salvatore Puccio continues to go from strength to strength, and in Wout Poels Froome again had his mountain wingman at his side, with the pair finishing together in Cervinia on Saturday. Sadly Vasil Kiryienka was forced to abandon the race on stage 19 after turning himself inside out for the cause across the three weeks.

That incredible unified performance also saw Team Sky claim victory in the team classification by almost 25 minutes.



Reflecting on his sixth career Grand Tour victory, Froome said: “I’m lost for words, it’s such an emotional feeling to be here in the pink jersey after a rollercoaster race for me.

“Just taking a step back and putting everything into perspective, just thinking about winning three Grand Tours consecutively - the Tour, the Vuelta and the Giro, it’s just an amazing feeling.

"It was great to be able to soak up the atmosphere here in Rome. The monuments, the crowds - it was a great atmosphere out on the road."

Asked where he realised what he'd achieved, Froome added: "I don't think it's quite sunk in yet. I'm sure it will over the next few days once I've had time to reflect. Obviously for any cyclist this is the dream - to have all three leaders jerseys in the space of 10 months. It's an incredible feeling.

"I've always been a little bit afraid of coming here and really targeting (the Giro) just because of the demands of the race. It's so different to any other race that exists. To be here in this position now and to have won the race - I can't quite believe it myself."

As a final note, Froome dedicated his sixth Grand Tour victory to his pregnant wife Michelle. He explained: "My wife has been at home battling a pregnancy. It's a different toughness altogether to get through that. We're really excited about the new addition to our family, it's going to be coming in August, so I dedicate this victory to her."



Courtesy of picking up major points on his long-range stage 19 attack, Froome also ensured Team Sky won the maglia azzurra mountains jersey for a third time in a row (Mikel Nieve 2016, Mikel Landa 2017).

Due to tricky conditions on the streets of Rome the final stage was neutralised after three laps, allowing Froome and his team-mates a more relaxed run for home. There was still a bunch sprint after 10 laps, won by Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe).

After helping mastermind Froome’s victory from the team car, Sport Director Nicolas Portal told Eurosport: “It’s just unbelievable, it’s a dream come true.

“It’s nice because we needed to keep dreaming and it’s fantastic for the team and for Chris to achieve this.

“I don’t know what will [be seen as] the key moment, but halfway through the second week we kept focusing on [his rivals] times and we still believed that we would win or get on the podium. But if you are going to get on the podium at the back of your mind you hope to the best.

“Chris never gave up and we could see that everything came together. He recovered from his first crash, the guys were feeling better and then Chris was also feeling better and it was perfect.”

Final standings:
  1. Chris Froome (Team Sky) 89:02:39
  2. Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) +46"
  3. Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) +4:57"
  4. Richard Carapaz (Movistar) +5:44"
  5. Domenico Pozzovivo (Bahrain Merida) +8:03"

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