The peloton spent most of the day crawling behind a doomed two-man breakaway. But everything completely exploded with 20 kilometers remaining. A massive crash decimated the field and permanently altered the GC battle. Jay Vine was forced to abandon in an ambulance, while UAE Team Emirates’ Adam Yates limped across the line bruised, muddy, and nearly 14 minutes down.
Visma-Lease a Bike managed to avoid the carnage and took control on the final climb of the Lyaskovets Monastery Pass. The pace set by Davide Piganzoli was enough to permanently drop the maglia rosa wearer, Paul Magnier.
Then, Jonas Vingegaard tested his legs. The race favorite launched an attack over the top of the climb, dragging only Giulio Pellizzari and Lennert Van Eetvelt with him. The trio crested the summit together and appeared destined to fight for the stage win.
But in the final kilometer, Van Eetvelt stopped pulling, Vingegaard started playing cat-and-mouse games, and the trio hesitated while the chase group came storming back to catch them in the final 500 meters.
With the elite trio swallowed up, Guillermo Thomas Silva seized the moment. The 24-year-old Uruguayan rider from XDS Astana launched a massive sprint to hold off Tudor’s Florian Stork and Lidl-Trek’s Giulio Ciccone at the line. Silva’s upset not only earned him his first Grand Tour stage win but also secured the maglia rosa.
Results
Results powered by FirstCycling.com