The last day of action at Giro Ciclistico della Valle d’Aosta saw the peloton take on a tough day over the climbs and some grizzly conditions, with a horrendous downpour of rain for the opening half of the day. The rainfall was so heavy that the first main ascent of the day was neutralised, before the action began on the valley below. There, Ryan Gal attacked several times looking to get clear but wasn’t able to; however due to the fast pace and technical nature the bunch split into pieces. Gal then found himself in the leading group and fought to stay there for the rest of the day, doing so over the penultimate climb of the day. On the last climb the pace by the GC contenders increased and Gal dug deep, finding a group to ride his own tempo in without going into the red. Coming to the line, he was in a group fighting for a top ten on the stage, with the young Dutchman giving everything to the line to finish in 11th place on the day.
Gal said: “Today was the last day and last change to have a go for a good result. We wanted to attack today as a team. On the first smaller climb of the day I attacked and in the part after then the race split. From there, it was fast on the rolling roads up to the big mountains. The first climb went well and I was still in the group and then it was over to the last climb. I felt good and eventually could compete for a top ten on the day. Unfortunately I just missed out, but nonetheless it was a good and fun day of racing.”