Bilbao says all out for Lopez in Giro d'Italia despite stage win
17 May 2019 05:45
Any hopes that Spain might have had of a second overall challenger in this year's Giro d'Italia in the shape of stage 7 winner Pello Bilbao (Astana Pro Team) have been quickly dispelled by the man himself. Bilbao has a sixth place overall in the 2018 Giro d'Italia on his palmares, and the time gained in his breakaway on Friday moved him up to 11th overall on this year's current ranking, just ahead of leading time trial favourite and overall contender Primož Roglic (Jumbo-Visma). But even when flushed with his first ever Grand Tour stage win, taken against riders as experienced as Tony Gallopin (AG2R La Mondiale) and José Joaquín Rojas (Movistar), Bilbao brushed aside suggestions that he might become a co-leader in Astana alongside their pre-race contender, Miguel Angel López.ADVERTISEMENT "I'm not thinking about GC, even if it was important for the team to have somebody up there in the break so as not to have to work behind, and play a more defensive role," Bilbao told reporters. "We're racing 100 per cent for Miguel Ángel here, now. This stage win was unexpected, but now it's the moment to work for him and try to win the Giro with him." Now 29, Bilbao has forged a reputation as a solid climber in his nine-year career, first with Basque squad Euskaltel-Euskadi, then with Pro Conti squad Caja Rural when Euskaltel folded, and most recently with Astana, a team he joined in 2017. Although this is his first Grand Tour stage win, he also has captured mountain victories in last year's Critérium du Dauphiné and the Tour of the Alps.
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