Julia Chicone won the 15th stage Gira d’Italia on Sunday after a solo attack on the last porch with Richard Karapaz, who was holding the leader’s pink T-shirt, headed off last week.
Chicone was part of a group that broke away, with no common contenders, crossing the finish line 1 minute 31 seconds ahead of nearest rival Santiago Buytrago after taking a step, remaining just under 20km.
Carapas holds the lead in the race he captured on Saturday after a 177-kilometer distance between Rivarola Canavese and Kone.
“This is my most beautiful victory,” said Chicone. “It’s better than the yellow jersey at the Tour de France, better than my first wins at the Giraud because I’ve been through tough times over the last two years, with accidents, illness and Covid.”
Chicone won the 2019 Mountain Ranking Jira who defeated Karapaz.
On Sunday, the 27-year-old escaped from Hugh Carty and Buitrag along with a trio to climb to the finish line in Cona in the Aosta Valley.
“I felt strong today,” the Italian explained. “I decided to attack alone, staying 19 km, because it was the steepest part of the climb, and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to drop everyone later.”
On a quiet day for the general classification Karapaz remained in the main peloton, which was all the main people, and was a few minutes ago when Chicone crossed.
https://cycling.today/giulio-ciccone-soloes-to-giro-ditalia-15th-stage-win/
