Red Bull talent Davide Donati sprints to victory on a curious finish at the Giro di Sardegna

Davide Donati took the win in the second stage of the Giro di Sardegna. The 20-year-old talent from the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe Rookies was the fastest in a reduced peloton. Darren van Bekkum tried to avoid a sprint with a solo attack but was unsuccessful.

On day two of the Giro di Sardegna, the riders covered 136 kilometers from Oristano to Carbonia. The stage featured three categorized climbs, the last being the ascent to Valico Montecani (6.5 km at 5.7%). The top of this climb was about 30 kilometers from the finish line. The finishing straight also had a slight uphill gradient. Nicolò Garibbo, who surprisingly won the opening stage on Wednesday riding for the modest Team UKYO, started the second stage as the race leader.

There was no shortage of attack attempts in the opening phase, but no one managed to break clear. Even after 80 kilometers of racing, there was still no decisive breakaway. Because of the high pace, however, the door was open at the back. Garibbo missed the move but was able to get back before the real finale. From the regrouped peloton, a small group then rode away, starting the climb to Valico Montecani with a clear advantage.

Van Bekkum attacks
On that climb, Soudal Quick-Step quickly closed the gap. Then Zana made his move. The second in the overall standings, who lost the sprint to Garibbo on Wednesday’s stage win, established a lead group of five with his acceleration. Garibbo was not among them but managed to get back into the situation shortly after. From a group of around fifteen riders, with just under twenty kilometers to go, Darren van Bekkum launched an attack.

The Dutch rider from XDS Astana built a nice gap. He extended it to over half a minute, while Alessandro Verre and Kamiel Bonneu—individually—both launched counterattacks. They couldn't catch Van Bekkum, but after a regroup in the chase behind, his lead started to shrink. He was caught again five kilometers from the finish. It looked like the stage would end in a sprint with a group of about fifty riders.

Last corner at 50 meters
However, with two kilometers to go, a promising attack came from Alexandre Balmer. The Swiss rider held on strongly but was caught at 200 meters from the finish by the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe Rookies squad. Their sprinter Davide Donati took the last corner first (just 50 meters from the finish) and was unbeatable from there. He took the stage victory.