In today’s edition of the Daily News Digest: UAE rider Polanc wins atop Mt. Etna at Giro d’Italia, Jungels moves into maglia rosa; Debusschere takes stage one of Four Days of Dunkirk; Froome shaken after hit and run incident in France; Nibali loses Moreno after disqualification for fighting; New race leader Jungels sees Giro as career milestone, but uncertain about chances of holding pink; Thomas jumps to second thanks to finish-line bonus; Zakarin only race contender to break elastic; Dennis out of Giro d’Italia; Van Garderen: I felt good on the climb; ‘A metre matters’ legislation likely to pass Victorian upper house tomorrow; We want to hear your feedback! Please take the CyclingTips reader survey; Audio: Six years after his passing, Elke Weylandt remembers brother Wouter’s character; Video: How Eritrean Cycling Made it to the Top of the Giro d’Italia; Video: Giro d’Italia Backstage Pass – stage four pre-race
Your Wednesday Daily News Digest
UAE rider Polanc wins atop Mt. Etna at Giro d’Italia, Jungels moves into maglia rosa
by Neal Rogers
Stage 4 of the Giro d’Italia saw a solo breakaway stage winner take victory atop the volcano of Mt. Etna on Sicily, as well as a fourth race leader in four days wear the maglia rosa.
After riding in the breakaway for the entirety of the 181km stage, 25-year-old Slovenian Jan Polanc was the last man standing on the windy climb, hoping against hope to hold off the chasing GC group. And though he began to falter in the final kilometers, Polanc (UAE Team Emirates) held on to win by 19 seconds over Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha), a victory reminiscent of his solo Stage 5 win at the 2015 Giro at Abetone, that race’s first summit finish. With the win, Polanc also took the race’s blue King of the Mountains jersey.
“It was amazing today,” Polanc said. “Probably nobody expected the breakaway to ride all the way to the finish. We didn’t have a big gap for the last climb, there were only four of us all day. I’m very happy to take this win after 2015, to repeat victory on the first mountain stage, it’s incredible. I want to thank the team, my family, and all those who support me. I can’t describe a moment like this. The climb was very difficult, it was constantly headwind. It was difficult after a long breakaway, it was probably the hardest day of my life.”
???????? 24 Pink Jerseys for Luxembourg in Giro’s history: one more than Germany. #Giro100 pic.twitter.com/s4diFAI2I1
— Giro d'Italia (@giroditalia) May 9, 2017
With Quick-Step’s race leader Fernando Gaviria finishing in the grupetto, the maglia rosa moved onto the shoulders of his teammate, Bob Jungels, who led the race for three days in 2016. The national champion of Luxembourg leads Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) by six seconds.
“It’s incredible again, exactly like last year, taking the maglia rosa from a teammate,” Jungels said. “I didn’t expect this today, it was a hard climb, there were a lot of good GC contenders, but I’ve made a lot of progress, and I think I rode a clever race on the last climb. I know I’m in good shape, I proved that two days ago, and I had a good rest yesterday. For us, the Giro is already a success, and there’s just some bonus to come now.”
Stage 4: Cefalù > Etna - Stage Result
Tuesday 9th May 2017
| 1. |  |
POLANC Jan
UAE Team Emirates
|
04:55:58 |
| 2. |  |
ZAKARIN Ilnur
Team Katusha - Alpecin
|
0:19 |
| 3. |  |
THOMAS Geraint
Team Sky
|
0:29 |
| 4. |  |
PINOT Thibaut
FDJ
|
- |
| 5. |  |
CATALDO Dario
Astana Pro Team
|
- |
| 6. |  |
DUMOULIN Tom
Team Sunweb
|
- |
| 7. |  |
JUNGELS Bob
Quick-Step Floors
|
- |
| 8. | |
YATES Adam
ORICA-Scott
|
- |
| 9. | |
MOLLEMA Bauke
Trek - Segafredo
|
- |
| 10. | |
NIBALI Vincenzo
Bahrain Merida Pro Cycling Team
|
- |
| 11. |  |
QUINTANA Nairo
Movistar Team
|
- |
| 12. | |
PETILLI Simone
UAE Team Emirates
|
- |
| 13. | |
POZZOVIVO Domenico
AG2R La Mondiale
|
- |
| 14. | |
ROLLAND Pierre
Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling Team
|
- |
| 15. |  |
VAN GARDEREN Tejay
BMC Racing Team
|
- |
Polanc
Jungels
Polanc
Greipel
Jungels
Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling Team
62 Today’s feature image is from the Giro d’Italia and was taken by RCS Sport.