With only a handful of chances remaining in this year’s Giro, all eyes turned to stage 17 and the 202km route from Casanova d’Adda to Andalo. Michael Valgren (EF Pro) joined a large group early on the stage. Winner of a Tirreno-Adriatico stage win earlier this year, Valgren was one of the strongest riders in the break.
On the final climb, Valgren was part of a small group and when a lull in pace with 1.1km created a small window of opportunity for an attack. He created a gap on his remaining rivals, held on to win the team’s first stage of the race and Valgren’s maiden grand tour stage win.
“This was missing from my resume. I think I deserved this. I think I’ve always said it to someone in the media: my career has been pretty good, but I needed this Grand Tour stage win. Last year I had high hopes for a good stage at the Tour, so my son went with Pokémon. Basically, it’s a Pokémon in our team colors. So yeah, it’s a luck charm.”
-Michael Valgren
Look back…
Gianni Motta; 1966 Giro d’ltalia champion…
Stage 17: 83-year-old Gianni Motta with Jonas Vingegaard
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