Giro d'Italia 2016: Stage 10 Results, Updated Standings and Highlights

Bardiani CSF’s Giulio Ciccone battled his way to a victory in Stage 10 of the Giro d’Italia on Tuesday, as the pink jersey changed hands from Gianluca Brambilla to his Etixx-QuickStep team-mate Bob Jungels. 

On an undulating 219-kilometre ride from Campi Bisenzio to Sestola, the 21-year-old made his move on a testing descent before holding on to his advantage on a summit finish. Ivan Rovny from Tinkoff was a further 42 seconds back on the day, while BMC Racing’s Darwin Atapuma came home in third.

Here’s the moment Ciccone took what was his maiden Grand Tour stage win:

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.@giuliocicco1 wins his first ever Grand Tour stage for @Bardiani_CSF on stage 10 of @Giroditalia #homeofcycling https://t.co/kMVfeGywpN

— Eurosport UK TV (@EurosportUKTV) May 17, 2016"

A difficult day for Brambilla slaw him slip back in the general classification, with the pink jersey now in possession of Jungels; he is 26 seconds clear of Movistar’s Andrey Amador, who attacked hard on Stage 10. Mikel Landa will not race for the championship, though, as the Team Sky man withdrew from the tour with an illness on the day.

Here are the key results from Stage 10 and a closer look at how the action panned out on this gripping segment of the 2016 Giro.

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Bardiani CSF	5:44:32
2	Ivan Rovny (Rus) Tinkoff Team	0:00:42
3	Darwin Atapuma (Col) BMC Racing Team	0:01:20
4	Nathan Brown (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling	0:01:53
5	Damiano Cunego (Ita) Nippo - Vini Fantini	0:02:04
6	Andrey Amador (CRc) Movistar Team	0:02:10
7	Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team	0:02:11
8	Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team
9	Esteban Chaves (Col) Orica-GreenEdge
10	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Bob Jungels (Lux) Etixx - Quick-Step	40:19:52
2	Andrey Amador (CRc) Movistar Team	0:00:26
3	Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team	0:00:50
4	Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
5	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team	0:00:52
6	Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Etixx - Quick-Step	0:01:11
7	Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff Team	0:01:44
8	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team	0:01:46
9	Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Team Katusha	0:02:08
10	Esteban Chaves (Col) Orica-GreenEdge	0:02:26

Ciccone Grits Out First Stage Win

Following Monday’s rest day, the riders were pushed hard on Tuesday, with a long stage littered with a variety of testing climbs—including a Category 1 ascent just prior to the 200-kilometre mark—and some sharp descents that required a lot of technical skill.

LUK BENIES/Getty Images

One man who wasn’t able to test himself over the distance was Landa, though. Considered to be one of the pre-tour favourites to win the pink jersey after finishing third in last year’s Giro, he was six minutes behind the general classification group ahead of the second climb and eventually opted to withdraw.

Global Cycling Network’s Daniel Lloyd was disappointed to see the Spaniard drop out of contention:

It was around the same point of the stage that Ciccone nestled into the breakaway group, one that began to dwindle as the riders approached the huge Category 1. Georg Preidler initially led the way, although he was eventually reeled in by Vini Fantini’s Damiano Cunego and the Bardiani CSF twosome Stefano Pirazzi and Ciccone.

As we can see, it was Cunego who eventually reached the summit in front to ensure he remained top of the King of the Mountains standings:

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Damiano Cunego sprints away for @NIPPO_Fantini to collect the 35 KOM points on the 1st cat climb #homeofcycling https://t.co/qqhNnAUwS5

— Eurosport UK TV (@EurosportUKTV) May 17, 2016"

However, he proved no match for the youngster on the descent, as Ciccone took control of the stage with some quality downhill riding. He built up enough of a lead ahead of the Category 3 rush to the line to enjoy the final moments of the stage and what was a landmark day for him.

“I could never have imagined winning a stage here because it is my first year as a professional, it comes as a big surprise,” he said afterwards, per Cycling News. “This is a fantastic victory, and thanks to everyone, and to my whole team.”

Claudio Peri/Associated Press

As the event’s official Twitter feed noted in the aftermath, it’s been a long time since someone so young won a stage here:

Jungels produced a fine ride to take the pink jersey from Brambilla, although he’s not a serious contender for overall glory here. Even so, he was delighted to have the chance to don the iconic maglia rosa.

“I really can’t believe it...,” he said, per Cycling News. “We don’t normally see this in cycling where a leader of the race is pulling. I think we are all really honest with each other, a big group of friends and I think we showed that today.”

He celebrated in style, too:

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.@BobJungels is the new wearer of the @giroditalia Maglia Rosa for @Etixx_QuickStep with a 26" lead at the top! https://t.co/8AWtnLYwTB

— Eurosport UK TV (@EurosportUKTV) May 17, 2016"

The man to beat still looks to be Vincenzo Nibali, who now finds himself just 52 seconds off the overall lead. With Landa no longer in the hunt, his most likely challenger will be Alejandro Valverde, who is a further two seconds ahead of the 2013 winner in pursuit of the pink jersey.

Stage 11 will add another chapter to this fascinating Giro. The 227-kilometre run from Modena to Asolo is flat in the most part before some short, sharp gradients to conquer in the very final stages. The men who can balance both raw speed and endurance should come to the fore in what should be a captivating battle for the line.