The first mountain stage of the Giro d’Italia to Madonna di Campiglio marked a change of leadership at Team Sky, with Leopold König rising to fifth overall, while Richie Porte plummeted to 27th after finishing more than 27 minutes down.
Porte had said he was unsure about continuing in the Giro d’Italia after hurting his knee and hip in the Jesolo crash and then losing four minutes in the long time trial to Valdobbiadene.
He fought on and pinned on a number for the stage to Madonna di Campiglio but was dropped early on the Passo Daone as the pace increased and was distanced even more on the climb to the finish. He was 10 minutes behind not far from Madonna di Campiglio but seemed to throw in the towel as the climb kick up and finished 88th in a small group at 27:04.
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At the finish Porte quickly wrapped a towel round is neck, zipped up his cape but did not speak to the media waiting for him at the finish. It is unknown if he will stay at the Giro d’Italia and try to win stages or head home to lick his wounds, rest up and think about the Tour de France.
König also wrapped up for the short descent to Team Sky’s hotel in Madonna di Campiglio. He described his stage as 'shit’ but confirmed he is now Team Sky’s man for the overall classification at the Giro d’Italia. His proven consistency in Grand Tour could see him finish in the top five.
“I felt pretty bad and was just trying to take as much time as possible on other GC contenders,” König explained in excellent English after also speaking to Czech reporters.
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