Although the sprinters were expected at the end of the eighteenth stage in the Tour of Italy in Treviso, the early breakaway resisted to the peloton. The peloton was split in the final, provoking a change in the provisional classification.
Jan Hirt and Domenico Pozzovivo were well surrounded and accompanied the first group of the peloton to finish without time loss on their contenders for the general classification. Jan Hirt is now sixth and Domenico Pozzovivo eighth in the provisional classification.
« On paper, it looked like an easy stage suited for sprinters, but it was not the case at all. I was actually expecting it, as this was the last chance for non climbers and non time trial specialists. In addition, the whole peloton feels the fatigue after eighteen days of racing. I'm happy that we managed to reach the finish line without time loss, because it wasn't easy. It was difficult to stay in the front the whole time, without the support of the team this would not have been possible. I want to say thank you to my teammates, who were again perfect today. »
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