Astana's Lopez 3rd in GC of Giro d'Italia after Stage 20
"I'm super happy now, it's still difficult to believe I reached the podium at the Giro! Fantastic! It was a tough stage and I had to fight from the first climb until the very last meter. I want to thank my team, which did incredible work today and during the whole Giro. My teammates were super strong and it is thanks to them that I'm now in the white jersey and on the podium. Especially, I want to thank Luis Leon Sanchez for a great support! It was a real fight today for the white jersey. Carapaz did a solid race and I am happy I was able to answer him and to win. The white jersey was my objective as well as the Top 5 overall. Now I'm third and that's amazing! I worked really hard to be where I am now," said Miguel Angel Lopez.
The final mountain stage of this year's Giro d'Italia, a 214 kilometers from Susa to Cervinia, would normally decide the final podium of the general classification. That meant the peloton was up for a big final showdown on the final climbs of this tour. A large group created the break of the day, including the rider who would eventually win the stage, Mikel Nieve. Behind this breakaway it was up to the GC riders.
The riders of Astana Pro Team set up a high pace on the first climb to control on the front and to create difficulties in the back of the peloton. Because of this pace, Thibaut Pinot was not able to hold on and dropped. Eventually he would drop out of the top 10 of the general classification, which resulted in a third place overall for Miguel Angel Lopez and a sixth place for Pello Bilbao.
On the final climb there were some attacks, but eventually nobody created a gap anymore. Miguel Angel Lopez finished twelfth in the stage,crossing the finish line in the group of GC contenders. Tomorrow is the final day of the Giro d'Italia, with the traditional stage in Rome (115 kilometers) where normally nothing changes in the general classification.