Scaroni wins stage 16 as Roglic pulls out on chaotic day at Giro
Stage 16 of the Giro d'Italia was a 203-kilometre ride from Piazzola sul Brenta to San Valentino featuring four brutal climbs totalling up to 4,900m of elevation, with heavy rainfall leading to several crashes.
Scaroni and teammate Lorenzo Fortunato broke away on the final climb, a punishing 12.6km stretch at an average gradient of 8.3%, and built up a sizeable lead to ensure a one-two finish for XDS Astana Team.
Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe) was third, completing an all-Italian podium.
In the overall standings, Mexican Del Toro is now just 26 seconds ahead of Simon Yates (Visma–Lease a Bike) after running out of steam with three km to go and failing to keep up with the Briton and Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost).
Carapaz, winner of the 2019 Giro d'Italia and a gold medallist at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, started the day over two minutes behind Del Toro but now trails by 31 only seconds after an explosive effort on the final climb.
"At the end we knew it was a real key stage here, I think I went well and I demonstrated what I've worked, everything it's cost me to get here and be here once again," Carapaz said.
"I think in the last few years I haven't had the aptitude, the shape to be here in this moment but that was the motivation to get myself up and go ahead and be here and try it once more.
"And good, I think we're good to give a big battle and go for it."
Earlier on Tuesday, Slovenian Roglic abandoned the Giro d'Italia after suffering another crash on a downhill section alongside Ecuadorian Carapaz.
The 2023 winner's title bid had suffered a major blow after a crash on Saturday, which was his third in a week, with Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe's sports director Christian Pomer saying on Sunday the team could decide to pull the 35-year-old out of the race.
Welshman Joshua Tarling (INEOS Grenadiers), the stage two winner, also abandoned the race after a heavy crash.
Roglic and Tarling were among riders to crash on Tuesday, with Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers), Carlos Verona (Lidl–Trek) and Alessio Martinelli of VF Group–Bardiani–CSF–Faizane all losing their footing in the rain.
Martinelli was taken to hospital after the crash, where he was conscious and in a stable condition.
Wednesday's stage 17 is another ride through the mountains spanning 155km from San Michele all'Adige to Bormio, with an altitude gain of 3,800 metres.
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The Independent
17 minutes ago
- The Independent
Who is Oscar Onley? The talented Scot breaking through at the Tour de France
Viewers scanning the Tour de France general classification will see a mix of wholly expected names and some comparative unknowns. Tadej Pogacar leads the standings as his era-defining dominance continues; Jonas Vingegaard sits second behind his longtime rival. But accompanying the rider sitting fourth in the overall standings is a British flag: not former Tour de France winner and veteran Geraint Thomas, but the up-and-coming youngster Oscar Onley. The 22-year-old has been enjoying a breakout season and is in action in just his second Tour de France. He and his team came in targeting a stage win but are on course for a top-five finish, and very possibly a podium place, at the sport's biggest race. With every passing stage he has surpassed both his own expectations and that of all observers. So who is Onley, and what's behind his meteoric rise? Onley grew up in the Scottish Borders town of Kelso and was inspired to start cycling by the fact that the time-trial route for his local club, Kelso Wheelers, went right past his house. The youngster was soon hooked, and while he could have had a future as an elite cross-country runner, he eventually opted for two wheels instead. He raced in Europe as a junior before joining the development team of his current squad, Picnic PostNL, in 2021. His breakthrough win came in 2022 at the Giro Valle d'Aosta, an Italian stage race, before he finished third at the CRO Race - a stage race in Croatia - and he made the step up to WorldTour racing in 2023. He finished third at the Tour de Suisse, behind Joao Almeida and Kevin Vauquelin (AP) Onley picked up a few top-10s in his debut WorldTour season, including at major stage races the Tour de Romandie and the Criterium du Dauphine, but his Grand Tour debut didn't go to plan. 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This year he has built on those experiences: he was fifth overall at the UAE Tour - won by Pogacar - then ninth at Itzulia Basque Country and third overall at the Tour de Suisse, a phenomenal race for the 22-year-old. Onley was seventh in stage 13's mountainous time trial (AFP via Getty Images) He took a stage win on Stage 5, beating overall winner Joao Almeida on a stage featuring four category-one climbs, and clearly rode into his best form at the perfect time with the Tour de France on the horizon. Having moved from the rolling Scottish hills to the mountains of Andorra, the 22-year-old is most at home when the gradient kicks up. So far in this Tour he has finished third, fourth twice, fifth, seventh, and sixth twice, with three of those fine results coming on gruelling back-to-back Pyrenean stages. 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The Independent
17 minutes ago
- The Independent
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Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Midday may be the best time to take an oral exam, interview for a job, or even go on trial, a new study has found. Researchers at Italy's University of Messina found a significant difference in students' pass rates in the late morning compared to early morning or late afternoon. At 12pm the students' passing rate was 72 per cent, compared to 54 per cent at 8am and 51 per cent at 4pm. Pass rates at 11am and 1pm were slightly lower at 67 per cent. 'We show that academic assessment outcomes vary systematically across the day, with a clear peak in passing rates around midday,' said Professor Carmelo Mario Vicario. 'Students were more likely to pass in late morning compared with early morning or late afternoon,' he said. 'We believe this pattern could extend to job interviews or any evaluative process scheduled throughout the day.' The study was based on the outcome of 104,552 assessments delivered by 680 examiners for 1,243 courses. The researchers chose to look at university oral exams, which are more subjective and aren't marked solely on correct answers, but also on delivery. It follows research showing that judges are more likely to rule in favour of a defendant at the start of sessions or after meal breaks. However, it is thought that this could also come down to the types of cases that are heard at different times of day. The study's author believes the findings could extend to job interviews ( Getty/iStock ) While the study could not identify the exact cause, it said the midday peak was consistent with evidence that cognitive performance improves over the morning and declines during the afternoon. The report said this could be due to the students' falling energy levels, as well as professors', who may give a harsher mark if they are experiencing decision fatigue. Researchers also said that it could be a result of students and professors competing chronotypes, the body's natural preference of sleeping times. 'People in their early 20s are usually night owls, while people in their 40s or older tend to be morning larks. The students might be least cognitively sharp at the time when the professors are most alert.' Prof Vicario suggested that to counteract these effects, students would benefit from better sleep, mental breaks, and scheduling exams outside of personal low periods. 'For institutions, delaying morning sessions or clustering key assessments in the late morning may improve outcomes. 'We believe this pattern could extend to job interviews or any evaluative process scheduled throughout the day. 'We would be very interested in investigating whether hiring decisions, too, fluctuate in fairness or outcome depending on time of day.'
The Independent
17 minutes ago
- The Independent
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Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Tadej Pogacar conquered his demons on the Col de la Loze to stretch his advantage in yellow as Ben O'Connor secured his second career Tour de France stage victory, this time on the queen stage. On the mountain where Pogacar famously cracked in 2023 as Jonas Vingegaard rode away to his second Tour crown, the Slovenian was the one gaining time two years later as a late dig at the summit saw him add 11 seconds to an overall lead that now stands at four minutes 26 seconds over his Danish rival. Oscar Onley, the 22-year-old Scot, hung with the two main favourites until the last 500 metres of this brutal 171.5km stage from Vif. Billed as the race's 'queen stage', it took in three hors categorie climbs, with Onley struggling on the second - the Col de la Madeleine - but regrouping and ultimately gaining 39 seconds on Florian Lipowitz to move to within 22 seconds of the podium with one mountain stage left. Stage honours belonged to O'Connor, who was in the original breakaway and attacked again on the valley road between the Col de la Madeleine and the final climb. He left Einer Rubio behind 16km from the summit of this 26km long climb, with double digit gradients and hail awaiting the riders on the narrow bike path to the summit. open image in gallery The Australian now has two Tour de France stage wins to go with his Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana victories ( AFP via Getty Images ) The Australian came to this Tour targeting the general classification but saw those hopes dashed by injuries sustained in a stage-one crash, and has had to recalibrate his ambitions to realise his second career Tour stage win, and first since 2021. '(The Tour) is a rough race,' O'Connor said. 'It's the biggest race in the world but for sure it's the cruellest. I've wanted another victory for so many years now, I've had a lot of thirds and fourths, so close. 'I couldn't be more proud of myself and the boys that have backed me every single day this whole race, even in the pretty rough times.' The penultimate mountain stage of this Tour was another opportunity for Vingegaard's Visma-Lease A Bike team to try to isolate Pogacar, and they made their first big moves on the Madeleine. open image in gallery Pogacar and Vingegaard were once again inseparable until the uppermost slopes of the final climb ( AFP via Getty Images ) Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates-XRG lieutenants fell away but recovered before the climb up through Courcheval. Vingegaard tried a late attack but it was Pogacar who came over the top to edge closer to a fourth career Tour crown. 'Today was brutal,' Vingegaard said. 'Five hours in the saddle. I'm not sure I've ever done such a hard stage in the Tour. I felt good, we had big plans, you could see that. We tried to go early and we did but unfortunately we could not gain any time. 'The team were amazing. I want to thank my team-mates. I think we were pretty equal, (Pogacar) took a few seconds in the end but the Tour is not over.' Lipowitz, sitting third overall in the best young rider's white jersey, had tried to stretch his advantage with solo moves but he was caught by the main favourites with nine kilometres left, allowing Onley to eat into his advantage and move within touching distance of the podium. 'It was hard," Onley said in his usual understated fashion. 'Visma set a hard pace and I just did what I could...(Twenty-two seconds), that's not much so we'll give it everything tomorrow.'
