(Tre Cime Di Lavaredo) For the fourth time since the start of the competition, the Canadian Derek Gee took second place in a stage of the Cycling Tour of Italy, when he finished behind the Colombian Santiago Buitrago during a grueling 19th stage on Friday.
Buitrago completed the 183 km course between Longarone and the Three Peaks of Lavaredo in five hours 28 minutes seven seconds. He finished the event 51 seconds ahead of Gee and a one minute 46 second lead over Magnus Cort and Primoz Roglic.
Buitrago caught Gee, the lone Canadian in the race, 1.5 kilometers from the finish.
The 25-year-old from Ottawa, Gee is competing in a Grand Tour cycling competition for the first time in his career. However, Gee has completed six of the 19 stages of the Giro d’Italia in the top-5.
In addition to his second places on Stages 8, 10, 14 and 19, Gee finished fourth on Stage 13 as well as on Thursday.
Overall, Gee is 22nd, 37 minutes four seconds behind Geraint Thomas, the leader’s pink jersey holder.
In addition, he is second behind the Italian Jonathan Milan in the points race and second behind the Frenchman Thibaut Pinot in the classification of the King of the Mountain.
For his part, Thomas, who is 37, maintains his chances of becoming the oldest winner in Giro history, although he saw his lead slightly reduced at the end of Friday’s stage. , the most demanding of the race.
Roglic topped the queen stage three seconds ahead of Thomas, but Thomas maintained a 26-second lead over Roglic in the overall standings. João Almeida retained third place, but lost ground and is 59 seconds behind the leader.
Friday’s stage featured no flat sections and five tough, graded climbs with gradients of up to 18%. The stage featured an elevation gain of 5400 meters.
Roglic changed bikes shortly before the start of the penultimate climb and he launched himself inside the last kilometer. However, Thomas was able to stay on his wheel and the British cyclist launched his own attack in the final 500m and appeared to have slightly outdistanced his rival.
But Roglic came back and won what could be vital seconds.
The winner of the Giro will likely be decided in Saturday’s mountain time trial, which culminates in a demanding ascent of Monte Lussari, with an altitude of over 1,000 meters and gradients of up to 22%.
The race will end on Sunday with a largely ceremonial finish in Rome, where Thomas could break the record held by Fiorenzo Magni, who was 34 when he won in 1955.
