Van Vleuten claims consecutive victory at the Giro-Rosa 2019

World time trial champion Annemiek van Vleuten has claimed an impressive consecutive overall victory at the 2019 Giro-Rosa, the only women’s Grand Tour of the year, winning two-stages in the process.

Van Vleuten claimed a solo victory on stage five which moved her into the Maglia Rosa, before extending her lead even further on day six, winning the individual time trial stage by an impressive margin of 52 seconds.

With a strong and committed team around her, the Mitchelton-SCOTT leader just needed to stay safe throughout the final four-stages, holding onto her sizeable advantage of three-minutes 45seconds to eventually be crowned the 2019 champion today in Udine.

History repeated itself with teammate Amanda Spratt also riding onto the podium once again for third place, after riding consistently strong throughout the week in support of team leader Van Vleuten, highlighting the strength and depth of the Australian outfit.

"It's so cool to win again, especially as I felt even a little bit better than last year. I felt so relaxed today with all of the team around me so it was a fantastic Giro-Rosa.

It is a dream come true again. Last year was the first time and now we did it again. It was a really big goal of mine this year and to finish it off for the second time in a row is really special.

We prepared 100%, we worked so hard for this and it's so nice that it pays off with the win. It’s also so nice for my team. We worked hard for it, we were all prepared, we reconned stages, the whole team was all in. You feel some pressure but then it is even more special to finish it off." (Annemiek van Vleuten)

"In a one-day race you can maybe win by yourself but in a stage race you really need the team everyday and that makes it so special and beautiful. We really nailed it as one team and tonight we will celebrate well." (Annemiek van Vleuten)

Final General Classification after 10 stages:

1. Annemiek van Vleuten (Mitchelton-SCOTT) 25:01:41

2. Anna van der Breggen (Boels-Dolmans) +3:45

3. Amanda Spratt (Mitchelton-SCOTT) +6:56

Daryl Impey storms to debut Tour de France victory on stage nine

South African champion Daryl Impey stormed to his debut Tour de France victory in style on stage nine into Brioude.

On Bastille Day, the 34-year-old made it into the decisive break of the day and proved to be the strongest in the 15-man move, eventually taking the victory in a two-up sprint. The win means that Impey has been involved in each of the team's four victories at the Tour de France.

Back in the peloton, team leader Adam Yates rolled home safely in the bunch along with his Mitchelton-SCOTT teammates, but the day belonged to Impey who claimed his first stage win in his seventh Tour.

Thrilling Finish

With this in mind, riders began to attack over the penultimate climb of the day, but the initial move was quickly shutdown. It wasn’t long before the next attacks came as Lukas Pöstlberger (BORA – Hansgrohe) jumped away on an uncategorised ramp and with the rest of the break faltering in organising a chase, the Austrian was able to open up a gap of 45-seconds.

The pace in the chasing group proved to be too much for several riders in the break and group was halved as Pöstlberger was reeled back in on final climb. A counter move went immediately as Tiesj Benoot (Lotto Soudal) and Nicolas Roche (Team Sunweb) attacked clear, leaving Impey in a small chase group behind. But as the summit approached Impey sensed the leading duo were edging away and the Tour Down Under champion attacked across to the pair.

The leading trio had a sizeable gap on the remains of the breakaway but knowing Impey was a danger in a sprint finish, Benoot attacked. However, the move could only drop Roche as Impey hauled himself onto the Belgians wheel and the duo raced clear of the dropped Team Sunweb rider. With just five kilometres to go it was clear the fight for the win was between Impey and Benoot, with the latter opening up the sprint as the line approached. However, the experienced Impey used his superior turn of speed to come around his rival and take a historic Tour de France stage win. 

“That is pretty much for me, from the Tour de France perspective, something that was really missing and this is my seventh time riding the Tour de France. I’ve been in quite a few breakaways and to finally nail it today, it’s just a dream come true, I really don’t have any words.

This is a dream come true, this is something I really wanted to do and you know it’s so difficult at this level, so when all the stars line up like they did today, I can’t be any prouder, it’s fantastic and I know South Africa will be cheering on and thanks to my family as well, they’ve supported me the whole way through this.” (Daryl Impey)

Tour de France 2019 Stage 9 Results:

1. Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-SCOTT) 4:03:12

2. Tiesj Benoot (Lotto Soudal) ST

3. Jan Tratnik (Bahrain Merida) +0:10