So its official Ryder Hesjedal has won the Giro d’Italia and created cycling history by becoming the first Canadian to win.
Hesjedal, claimed the pink jersey from Spain’s Joaquim Rodriguez after the 28.2km final-day time trial. Rodriguez, who led by 31 seconds overnight, finished 16 seconds behind in second with Thomas De Gendt third. Briton Mark Cavendish came second in the points competition after Rodriguez overtook him on the penultimate stage.
Hesjedal said “It was just an unreal experience from day one, with what we’ve been able to do, with the support of the team”.
“I couldn’t have done it without them. I knew I was good when I came here. I just stayed focused and took advantage of the situation. I kept feeding off that support.”
This is also the first time his Garmin team have made the podium in their five-year history.
I also love Ryder’s name – it couldn’t be more perfect for a cyclist. I once had a home economics teacher called Mrs Salt, go figure!
Final Stage 21 Standings:
1. Marco Pinotti (Ita/BMC Racing)
2. Geraint Thomas, (GB/Sky Procycling) at 39 seconds
3. Jesse Sergent, New Zealand, RadioShack-Nissan at 53 seconds
4. Alex Rasmussen (Den/Garmin-Barracuda) at 1 minute
5. Thomas De Gendt (Bel/Vacansoleil) at 1 minute 1 second
6. Ryder Hesjedal (Can/Garmin-Barracuda) at 1 minute 9 seconds
Overall Standings
1. Ryder Hesjedal (Can/Garmin-Barracuda), 91 hours, 39 minutes, 2 seconds
2. Joaquin Rodriguez, (Esp/Katusha) at 16 seconds
3. Thomas De Gendt (Bel/Vacansoleil) at 1 minute 39 seconds
4. Michele Scarponi (Ita/Lampre) at 2 minutes 5 seconds
5. Ivan Basso (Ita/Liquigas) at 3 minutes 44 seconds
6. Damiano Cunego (Ita/Lampre) at 4 minutes 40 seconds
My wishes were that Basso would win one more time. It was a great race by Hesjedal.
Hey Richard….Even though he’s getting on – maybe there’s an outside chance he could do?
Canada has had some cyling greats come and go in its time with the likes of Clara Hughes and Kurt Harnet in the Olympics. And Steve Bauer’s 4th place finish in Le Tour de France, nearly a quarter-century ago, was the last great pro cycling achievement. Ryder’s win today has totally re-inspired my own training. I’m one very proud Canadian!
Reblogged this on Digitize We Must! and commented:
Couldn’t have said it better myself! Ryder Hesjedal’s win comes off the back of his individual performance in today’s final time trial as much as it was his team’s combined commitment in yesterday’s penultimate mountain stage. Garmin-Barracuda are one of the best put together teams on paper; now they’ve just proven it on the road.
Thanks for the update on the race.
Reblogged this on je suis erica and commented:
Amazing news for Canada!!! It’s a good day to be from Victoria, so proud of Ryder!!!
Big up the Canadian massive!
Reblogged this on sinnercycling and commented:
Boulder based Garmin, congrats on a great win!