Giro d'Italia: Top favorite Roglic crashes and falls back, a Mexican takes over the Maglia rosa

(sda) After more than eight months without a victory, Wout van Aert made an impressive comeback at the end of the first week of the Giro d'Italy. The Belgian, competing in his first Tour of Italy, won the 9th stage in Tuscany, which also featured five gravel sections.

The unpaved, white roads, familiar from the Stade Bianche one-day race held every March, delivered the expected spectacle. Van Aert prevailed in a sprint finish after 181 kilometers ahead of Mexican Isaac del Toro. The duo crossed the finish line in the Piazza del Campo in Siena's historic center with a lead of over a minute over their closest rivals.

Van Aert thus completed his collection of victories in the three grand tours, having already won nine stages in the Tour de France and three in the Vuelta.

Del Toro, for his part, took the pink jersey thanks to his second-place finish. The 21-year-old Central American from Team UAE Emirates replaced the Italian Diego Ulissi, who had taken over the pink leader's jersey only the day before. The 35-year-old local hero was dropped in the first gravel section. He crossed the finish line – like the only Swiss rider, Yannis Voisard – more than five minutes behind.

The most popular contenders for the overall victory suffered setbacks. Spaniard Juan Ayuso, who finished seventh, lost over a minute to his teammate Del Torro, while former Tour de France winner Egan Bernal of Colombia lost another three seconds. Top favorite Primoz Roglic fell back due to a crash and later lost time with a flat tire. The Slovenian lost almost two and a half minutes to the leader and 1:15 minutes to Ayuso.

On Monday, the pros enjoy a rest day to gather strength for Tuesday's individual time trial, which will cover 28.6 km from Lucca to Pisa.