Fabio Aru (Astana) has climbed to victory in Stage 19 of the Giro d’Italia. The Italian, who has struggled at times in this Giro, surged away from the maglia rosa group with six km remaining to win the mountainous, 236-km ride from Gravellona Voce to Cervinia in 6:24:13. Ryder Hesjedal (Cannondale-Garmin) finished second at 0:28, and Rigoberto Uran (Etixx-Quick Step) took third at 1:10. The win catapulted Aru into second place overall, 4:37 behind maglia rosa Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo Bank).

The early pace was fast. After two hours of racing, Giovanni Visconti (Movistar), Esteban Chaves (Orica-GreenEdge), Pavel Kochetkov (Katusha), Carlos Betancur and Matteo Montaguti (both from Ag2r-La Mondiale), Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida), Marek Rutkewicz (CCC Sprandi-Polowice), Nick van der Lijke (LottoNL-Jumbo), and Vasil Kiriyienka (Sky) sallied off of the front. At the summit of the day’s first climb, the Category 3 Croce Serra, the break led the bunch by four minutes. Astana went to the front and began to chase.

At the base of the Category 1 Saint Barthelemy (151 km), the peloton trailed the escapees by 3:30. Attrition took its toll on the latter, and Visconti breasted the climb alone. On the ascent of the Category 1 Col Saint Pantaleon, the Movistar man’s lead was less than three minutes.

At the base of the first category climb to the finish, Visconti led the bunch by 2:00. With 10.7 km to go, the peloton reeled him in. Not long after the catch, Kanstantsin Siutsou (Sky) attacks, and Mikel Landa (Astana), Aru, Contador, Hesjedal, Uran, and Steven Kruiswijk (LottoNL-Jumbo) joined the Sky man.

With about nine km left, Aru attacked, and Hesjedal countered. The combustion reduced the maglia rosa group to Contador, Aru, Landa, and Kruiswijk.

Aru attacked again, and Kruiswijk attempted but failed to catch him. With six km left, the Italian caught Hesjedal and then countered. One km later, he led the maglia rosa group by 0:45.

Uran caught the maglia rosa group and attacked from it with four km left. With three km to go, Aru led Hesjedal by 0:26 and Uran by 1:15. The Astana man stayed clear for the win, punching the air as he crossed the finish line. Behind, the maglia rosa group members eyed each other as they approached the finish.

Aru’s struggles in this Giro made today’s victory particularly sweet. “This win has a particular flavor, because it was unexpected after the previous days when I wasn't well,” Aru said. “I hung in there. It may seem banal, but I have the quality of never being content with what I've done so far in a race, and this helped me through. I got through the previous days. I'm very happy. I don't lose my head over a stage win. I want to complete this Giro d'Italia, then recover and start preparing for my next objectives. If I'm still here, it's because the Giro d'Italia is close to my heart. But this win has a special flavor. Last year at Montecampione it was my first win, so it was unique for me, but this one, after what I've been through, and the last few days I've had, makes me particularly happy.”

Contador marked Landa all day, and when Aru attacked, the Spaniard was willing to let him go. “The team was good today,” Contador said, “and I kept an eye on my closest rival, Mikel Landa. You have to take a tactical decision in the end. Landa and Aru could have taken turns to attack all the way up the final climb. Obviously, I'd like to win a stage, but it is hard. The final group is always small and I don't have teammates with me because they work hard earlier in the stage, so the result today is perfect for me.”

In the overall, Contador leads Aru by 4:37 and Landa by 5:15. Stage 20, a 199-km ride from Saint Vincent to Sestriere, will provide a final opportunity to solidify the general classification. It will also provide an opportunity for Contador to win a stage of this Giro. Will he do so? Check in at www.roadcycling.com and find out!