Oliveira outkicks Bax in nail biter finale, Zimmermann wraps up Giro d’Abruzzo

The early stages in the mountains of central Italy were wide open, with two wins for UAE Team Emirates XRG keeping the race on a knife’s edge. But in the rained-out queen stage, the real selection was made. Georg Zimmermann of Intermarché Wanty pulled on the leader’s jersey, but the spotlight belonged to the day’s surprise winner. Colombian Alejandro Callejas, riding for the Continental team Petrolike, was by far the strongest in brutal conditions. It marked the 21 year old’s first pro victory, a result that had never really seemed within reach for the little known talent.

Zimmermann had one more stage to survive. The final day was less demanding than Thursday’s queen stage, but with time gaps still razor thin, the entire top ten was technically still in the hunt. That did not go unnoticed by George Bennett. The Israel Premier Tech rider jumped into a seven rider breakaway, hoping to turn the race upside down. But the peloton kept the move on a tight leash and never allowed the gap to grow too far.

It took a while before the peloton truly got the breakaway in their sights. The group of eight worked well together and carved out a lead of nearly two minutes with 90 kilometers to go. But from that point on, the gap started to come down. With 70 kilometers remaining, the margin had dropped to under a minute and the escapees were now visible to the chasing pack.

When the gap dropped to just thirty seconds with 50 kilometers to go, the breakaway riders made one final push. And it paid off. Their renewed effort saw the lead stretch back out to over a minute with 40 kilometers remaining.

The gap began to shrink quickly and it looked like the breakaway had spent all its matches. But the toll of several hard days began to show in the peloton as well. With 20 kilometers to go, the two remaining escapees, Sjoerd Bax and Ivo Oliveira, still held a 40 second lead. Five kilometers later, it had stretched back out to nearly a minute.

In the final ten kilometers, the pace in the bunch ramped up significantly, but Bax and Oliveira kept working together with purpose. With seven kilometers left, their lead still hovered above thirty seconds and the Dutchman and the Portuguese could begin to dream of the stage win.

With four kilometers to go, the gap was down to twenty seconds. It became a race against the clock. In the uphill run to the line, they still had a small cushion. The peloton arrived just a few seconds too late and Oliveira outkicked Bax in a two up sprint. The Dutchman had to settle for a hard earned second place, while Georg Zimmermann sealed the overall victory.