Ewan wins Giro stage in sprint; Valter retains overall lead

Australian cyclist Caleb Ewan claimed his second sprint victory in the Giro d’Italia and Attila Valter kept the pink jersey after the seventh stage on Friday.

Ewan, who rides for the Lotto Soudal team, closed a gap to Fernando Gaviria with about 100 meters remaining and finished just ahead of Davide Cimolai and Tim Merlier.

Ewan, who also won Stage 5, took his fifth career win at the Giro and 50th overall in his career.

“I knew it would be a good finish for me,” he said. “Then it was a question of being smart and a lot of team work, too. ... It was a super hard finish and I had to go deep to win. My legs were absolutely burning.”

Ewan took nearly five hours over the mostly flat 181-kilometer (112-mile) leg from Notaresco to Termoli.

Valter remained 11 seconds ahead of Remco Evenepoel overall and 16 seconds ahead of Egan Bernal.

“To pass through the beautiful cities of Italy with people cheering for the pink jersey, I had to pinch myself to realize that it was really me,” said Valter, who claimed the lead a day earlier.

The overall standings could be shaken up in Stage 8 on Saturday, a 170-kilometer (106-mile) leg from Foggia to Sanframondi featuring one second-category climb and an uphill finish.

The Giro ends on May 30 in Milan with an individual time trial.

Meanwhile, Cycling’s road race world champion Julian Alaphilippe said on Friday he will not take part in the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Alaphilippe is scheduled to race the Tour de France which ends July 18, just a week before the Olympic road racers tackle the slopes of Mount Fuji.

“It’s a personal decision, one I carefully thought out,” said Alaphilippe, whose partner is expecting the couple’s first child.

The Olympic route might better suit the strengths of French climb specialist Romain Bardet, while Allaphilippe’s Belgian team-mate at Deceuninck Quick Step Remco Evenepoel is also tipped to do well in Tokyo.

“I’ll be happy to wear the French colours at the world championships,” Alaphilippe said of the event scheduled for Flanders in September.

Agence France-Presse