Gaviria sprints to 5th without a saddle
File this one under “unusual.”
Some sort of incident, the specifics of which remain unknown at time of publishing, left Colombian sprinter Fernando Gaviria without a saddle for the Giro d’Italia’s sprint finish into Verona on Friday. The lack of a perch didn’t slow Gaviria down too much, though, as he still crossed the line in 5th.
Finish line shots show a seatpost with no saddle attached as Gaviria sprinted down the straight run-in to the finish. He appears to be seated as late as 500 meters to go, as he followed leadout man Max Richeze around a late chicane before bursting up the left side of the road, followed closely by eventual stage winner Giacomo Nizzolo.
Gaviria has had a rough go of it this Giro, frequently close but still without a stage win. He finished second on stage 10, fifth on stage five and again today. His best shot at victory appeared in stage two, but a miscommunication with his leadout left him boxed in.
He’s been chasing the sprinter’s jersey currently held by Peter Sagan and managed to take a few points back both at the finish and at the day’s intermediate sprint. He sits in 4th in that competition, with 110 points to Sagan’s 135.
We’ll update this story when we find out what happened to Gaviria’s poor saddle.
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