Giro d'Italia 2014 - Stage 15 : Valdengo - Plan di Montecampione (225 km)

Fabio Aru (Astana) won his first stage of the Giro d'Italia. He crossed the finish line 21 seconds ahead of Fabio Duarte (Colombia) and 22 seconds ahead of title contender Nairo Quintana (Movistar). With this he improved in the overall classification and moved up to 4th place.

By Bruno Fleckenstein

A flat stage past Milano, Monza, through Bergamo offered the only challenge 20 kilometers before the end. From Boario Terme at 222 meters above sea level it went up the mountain with destination Plan di Montecampione, which lies at 1665 meters above sea level. The decision was made in this stage. Fabio Aru started his attack about three kilometers from the finish. Rigoberto Uran, the overall leader, was close on his rear wheel, with Cadel Evans behind. With 1.2 kilometers to go, Nairo Quintana(Movistar) and Pierre Rolland(Europcar) were about 50 meters ahead of Rigoberto Uran, who tried to keep up. He was also overtaken by Fabio Duarte (Colombia), who was able to catch up with Quintana in the further course.

Fabio Aru finally won this stage with a large lead. Fabio Duarte was able to overtake his two competitors Nairo Quintana and Pierre Rolland in the final meters and finished second. Rigoberto Uran was able to extend his lead over Cadel Evans by finishing fifth. In contrast, Nairo Quintana was able to make up time to Uran, as he had done the day before. On the other hand, Cadel Evans lost 31 seconds and Rigoberto Uran was able to extend his lead over his nearest pursuer again.

Overall standings after the 15th stage

1st Rigoberto Uran (Omega-Quick Step) 63h26:39
2nd Cadel Evans (BMC) +1:03 min.
3rd Rafal Majka (Tinkoff-Saxo) +1:50min.
4th Fabio Aru (Astana) +2:24min.
5th Nairo Quintana (Movistar) +2:40min.
6th Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R La Mondiale) +2:42min.
7th Wilco Kelderman (Belkin) +3:04min.
8th Pierre Rolland (Europcar) +4:47min.
9th Robert Kiserlovski (Trek) +5:44min.
10th Wouter Poels (Omega-Quick Step) +6:32min.

Fabio Aru gets support during his solo run.