Zimmermann celebrates breakthrough win as Bax stuns with second behind former teammate

There was little sign of disappointment from Bax after the finish. “If Oliveira hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have stayed out front until the line,” he admitted. Bax knows all too well how strong Oliveira is from their time together at UAE last season. “I know him well. He’s fast and it was always going to be tough to beat him. He’s clearly in form, he already won a stage two days ago. The funny thing is we were in the grupetto together yesterday and today we were off the front.”

Bax was the one who made the move in the finale, managing to break away from the rest of the lead group with Oliveira. “I opened a small gap on the descent and decided to go all in from there.” He also credited his team for helping make the move stick. “They did a great job in the peloton to disrupt the chase and support the break.”

All in all, second place was a welcome boost for Sjoerd Bax. “To be honest, I didn’t expect to be racing for the win today. I could still feel yesterday’s cold and rain in my body. I’m also not yet one hundred percent after my hip injury and the crash on that same side during the Hellas Tour, but I’m getting there. I’m still missing a few percent. This second place gives me confidence for the races ahead,” Bax said with optimism.

Behind the two escapees, Georg Zimmermann comfortably secured the overall win. It marked a milestone moment for the attacking German, who claimed his first ever general classification victory. “This is not only my first professional GC win, I’ve been a cyclist for thirteen years and never won an overall before,” he said during the press conference.

“Today is a really big day for me,” Zimmermann continued proudly. “The result of the stage didn’t matter to me, it was about defending this beautiful jersey.” And he could count on the full support of his team. “My teammates were so strong I didn’t spend a single meter in the wind. They made my dream come true,” he added, full of praise. “Yesterday was a strong ride by me, but today the credit goes to them.”

The trophy for the overall winner already has a special place reserved, Zimmermann revealed. “Every day I looked at the Giro d’Abruzzo trophy and thought it was beautiful. I’m happy it’s mine now. At my parents’ house there’s a room with all my trophies. This one will have a place of honor.”

That his first overall win came in Italy made the moment even more meaningful. “I raced here a lot as a young rider because I was part of an Austrian team and there are not many races in Austria. So this feels like a bit of a home win to me.”