The many labours of Ryder Hesjedal (Cannondale-Garmin) at the Giro d’Italia continue. In 2012, the stars aligned in the Canadian’s favour at almost every turn en route to final overall victory. In his three appearances at the race since, he has scarcely been able to catch a break.
Sunday’s stage 15 to Madonna di Campiglio was a case in point. Hesjedal was still within sight of the pink jersey group over the top of the Passo Daone, but just a few bends into the plunge towards Pinzolo, he was irretrievably distanced after Darwin Atapuma’s crash interrupted the chasers’ efforts.
“I must have been near the front. I could see the pink jersey and the Astana guys,” Hesjedal said afterwards. “There weren’t that many guys over the top there. I came around the corner and I could tell guys had come off the road but I was still on guys’ wheels and I couldn’t really see but then all of a sudden there was quite a big gap.”
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By the time the dust settled at the base of the descent, Hesjedal found himself in a sizeable group that contained a large portion of race leader Alberto Contador’s Tinkoff-Saxo guard. With the maglia rosa isolated in the front group, his teammates gave forlorn chase on the approach the final climb, but their effort appeared to peter out at the base of the haul to Madonna di Campiglio.
“They couldn’t do anything,” Hesjedal said bluntly of the Tinkoff-Saxo effort as he changed into a jacket at the summit of Madonna di Campiglio. A kilometre or so into the climb, he made a quick calculation and opted to go it alone.
“When I got off that descent there was that gap there. It was a little disorganised and those guys were gone and fully committed up front, so I never regained contact,” he said. “But my legs felt good. I basically did the whole climb by myself.”
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