Geraint Thomas opted to save energy for the tougher challenges to come on stage 11 of the Giro d’Italia, where the summit finish at Cusano Mutri saw the GC contenders play it relatively calmly with no major overall attacks.
Summit finishes immediately after rest days are anything but predictable affairs, but as Thomas explained later, the headwind on the wildly uneven slopes of Cusano Mutri made for a watchful but largely uneventful ascent for the GC favourites.
