Potenza belongs to the Dutch: stop in Bouwman launched by Dumoulin

The escape succeeds, glimpses of blue with Formolo and Villella. Lopez always pink jersey

POWER. Koen Bouwman28 year old Dutch boy on Friday 13 May wins the eighth stage with his arms raised, thirty meters behind, fourth, with the same shirt rejoices, Tom Dumoulin. Like any follower, he who won the 2017 Giro, the following year went very close to making a double in Italy and to the Tour with two second places, he left cycling for a few months at the beginning of last season, fed up with that perennially in motion that is the world of cycling, and is back by climbing the podium in the Tokyo Olympic time trial.

31-year-old Tom cheers, as if he had won. In Potenza is the triumph of the Jumbo Visma. In July in France to the Tour will send a squadron with Primoz Roglic to challenge Tadej Pogacar and the others. Here she intends to put on a show by chasing stages.

Ready to go and halfway through the stage of the Lucanian Apennines and the wind turbines, not even a meter of plain and four real climbs, the Jumbo jets have taken away the decisive escape. The group “moderately” let it be done because it is true that Dumoulin on Etna had removed himself from the rankings, but it is equally true that having him go back down would have been criminal. With them in the finale Bauke Mollema (Trek Segafredo), winner of Lombardia 2019, and therefore a duraccio, and the Italians Davide Villella (believers) e Davide Formolowhich from captain Uae Joao Almeida got the green light to try his luck.

Final: on the climb towards Potenza Dumoulin broke off, but he didn’t give up, recovering on the descent and in the last two kilometers wearing the plans of the perfect wingman. Tough pace and sprint of the teammate, the fastest. Second Mollema and third Formolo. Fourth and happy Tom, fifth Villella, who completes a day that gives a little light to blue cycling.

Bouwman celebrates: «I’m very happy, I suffered during the stage, in the end Dumoulin, who is a big name in cycling, did a great job and was happy for me».

Dumoulin? «I was disappointed after Etna – he said – here in Italy I always do my best. It’s true I recovered but it’s not my goal to win the overall ». In short, if he tells the truth, the stage hunters are warned.

And the Giro d’Italia hunters? Juan Pablo Lopez (Trek Segafredo) continues his honeymoon with the pink jersey. In Potenza he finished with the other big names at 2’59 “. Today he will have to dance, and a lot, in the Naples stage with the Monte di Procida circuit to be repeated 4 times. But for him the stumbling block of the Blockhaus (and not only) domami risks being a complicated exam to pass. After all Richard Carapaz (Ineos), Simon Yates (Bike Exchange), Mikel Landa (Bahrain), Almeida and, add by curriculum, Romain Bardet (DSM) sooner or later they will have to give it to themselves somewhere. Or not?

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