World Champion Finn confirms Giro Next Gen favourite status with race win and pink jersey

Lorenzo Finn (Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe Rookies) showed on Friday's brutal stage of the Giro Next Gen that he is the man to beat. The 19-year-old Italian rode everyone off his wheel on the Monte Livata and took over the lead from Visma | Lease a Bike rider Matisse Van Kerckhove, who struggled in the high mountains.

The sixth stage of the Giro Next Gen counted as a serious test on Friday, with the riders plunging into the Apennines over 159 kilometres. Matisse Van Kerckhove tackled it in the leader's jersey for Visma | Lease a Bike, after the Belgian talent won Thursday's stage to Bacoli.

Friday was a different story, with 3,500 metres of climbing and a summit finish on the Monte Livata: 13.7 kilometres at an average of 6.8%. Add the European heatwave, and everyone knew it would be a savage day. There was certainly no holding back in the opening phase, though.

The riders had barely got going — barely warmed up, in this heat — when outsiders such as Kamiel Eeman (Lotto-Intermarché) and Matteo Vanhuffel (Picnic PostNL) were already on the attack, while at the back riders were climbing off in droves under the fierce pace.

Vanhuffel even moved into the virtual race lead, in a situation that eventually produced a breakaway of 33 (!) riders. Among them were Gijs Schoonvelde (Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe), Paul Fietzke, Gustave Blanc (Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe), Elliot Rowe (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Adam Rafferty of Hagens Berman Jayco.

Pierre Henry-Basset (XDS-Astana) also led briefly on the road, only to be chased down — for want of race radios — by his own team. In the end none of it mattered much, since it was always going to come down to the punishing final climb in these conditions.

And the fireworks came early there: with the remaining escapees holding 1:24, Mateo Ramírez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) was already shaking things up 12.4 kilometres from the finish. That acceleration was immediately too much for pink jersey Van Kerckhove, who, in the real high mountains, had no answer for the pure climbers.

Top favourite Finn did respond, with the added luxury of his teammate Blanc driving on the front. Blanc emptied the tank completely, after which the final 8.5 kilometres were down to the world champion himself.

In his wake, a chasing group formed with Ramírez, Vanhuffel and Soudal Quick-Step's Brazilian Henrique Bravo. They were mostly preoccupied with one another, as Finn — U23 world champion last year, junior champion the year before — was already long gone. The same went for Van Kerckhove, but at the other end of things: he was shipping several minutes.

That other Belgian, Vanhuffel, also had to let the two South Americans go inside the final five kilometres.