Outsider Bais wins ‘boring’ Giro stage on snow-capped Apennine peak

GRAN SASSO D'ITALIA, Italy: With snow piled high on the roadsides, Italian outsider Davide Bais won stage seven of the Giro d’Italia from a breakaway on the highest peak in the Apennines on Friday.

Andreas Leknessund retained the overall lead against expectations on a testing and relentless climb above the treeline after which there was no change in the general classification. Leknessund leads ahead of favorite Remco Evenepoel and Aurelien Paret-Peintre, while Damiano Caruso and Joao Almeida kept pace and Ineos pair Geraint Thomas and Tao Geoghegan Hart failed to launch an expected attack. “The conditions weren’t right, we were put off by the head wind,” said Thomas. Evenepoel appears to have no lasting after-effects from his falls Thursday. “That was the longest stage of the Giro in terms of hours,” said the Vuelta and world champion. “We managed it pretty well.” The Norwegian overall leader Leknessund went as far as describing the stage as “boring.” “It was only full gas in the last kilometer. I can be grateful for that and have some more days in pink,” Leknessund said at the line. “I was expecting it to be harder. It was also quite boring, I’d say. I was looking forward to fighting, but of course I’m happy and grateful.” The 23-year-old Evenepoel, of the Soudal Quick-Step team, skipped effortlessly away from a weary peloton over the final few hundred meters on the Grand Sasso (Big Rock) to finish fourth on the day, with 33-year-old Jumbo leader Primoz Roglic appearing equally at ease following him over the finish line in fifth place at over 2100m altitude. For the little known 25-year-old journeyman Bais this was a first top-level win and came after he escaped early, targeting some mountain points. He did not expect