BOCCA DELLA SELVA, Italy: Valentin Paret-Peintre won the 10th stage of the Giro d'Italia on Tuesday, claiming the honours on the Bocca della Selva summit finish while Tadej Pogacar maintained his overall lead.
Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale rider Paret-Peintre earned on the Italian Grand Tour his first ever professional win, finishing the 142 kilometre stage from Pompei ahead of fellow Frenchman Romain Bardet and Visma rider Jan Tratnik.
The 23-year-old follows in the footsteps of his elder brother Aurelien, who won a stage on the Giro last year and finished fifth on Tuesday, one minute and 25 seconds behind his sibling.
The pair shared a brotherly hug after the stage before the younger Paret-Peintre spoke to media.
"I can't describe what I feel now, it's just amazing. I was there to get a good result in the stage and why not win?" he said.
Paret-Peintre finished 29 seconds ahead of Bardet who has jumped up the general classification after gaining nearly three minutes on the day.
Bardet now stands in seventh at 4min 57sec, which is two minutes adrift of Geraint Thomas in third.
Bardet, who is 10 years Paret-Peintre's senior, is just under five minutes behind pink jersey wearer Pogacar, who had a relatively quiet day and maintained his healthy lead over main rivals Dani Martinez and Thomas.
"I watched him [Bardet] when I was young, when he finished on the podium of the Tour de France," added Paret-Peintre.
"I dreamed of seeing him one day, and today I battled with him and I beat him."
Paret-Peintre won the stage after being part of the day's big breakaway which at its height was some 30 riders strong.
He worked with Bardet on the final climb before attacking 3km from the finish to blaze past Visma-Lease a Bike rider Tratnik, who had tried to go it alone some time before but run out of legs just as the race came to its climax.
"I think 4km to go, 3km to go, I started to feel a bit of weakness in my legs," said Tratnik.
"I look behind and they pass me with double speed and then for me it was just a battle to the finish line. In the end, third place we can be happy."
Wednesday's 11th stage takes the peloton 207km from Foiano di Val Fortore to Francavilla al Mare on the Adriatic coast, where the sprinters should have a chance to shine.--AFP