Fabio Aru (Astana) rode clear of Ryder Hesjedal (Cannondale-Garmin) and Rigoberto Urán (Etixx-Quick-Step) on the final categorized climb of the day to take stage 20 of the Giro d’Italia. It was the second straight stage victory for the 24-year-old, who secured his second-place in the general classification with the performance, although it one point, it seemed possible that he might be able to unseat race leader Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo).
On the final day for the uphill specialists in the 2015 Giro, Contador found himself in difficulty on the steep dirt roads of the Colle delle Finestre, the penultimate climb of the stage. First, Mikel Landa (Astana) launched an attack from the group of GC favorites to bridge to lone breakaway survivor Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha), and Contador was unable to follow. Then, Aru and several other GC contenders tried their luck, and quickly distanced the pink jersey. Isolated, without any other riders around him, Contador crested the climb about a minute behind Mikel Landa, but over the course of the descent and then on the early slopes of the last climb, he was able to find some recovery and limit his losses.
Landa and Zakarin made their way up the final climb together in front of Aru’s group, but eventually the two groups joined up, and then Aru powered clear as the riders neared the finish line.
Aru, who started the day 4:27 behind Contador, ultimately finished 2:25 ahead of the race leader, leaving Contador with still more than two minutes of an advantage over his nearest challenger.
The post Aru wins Giro stage 20, Contador stays in pink after scare appeared first on VeloNews.com.
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