ANDALO, Italy (AP) — A few meters from the finish line, Michael Valgren pulled his son’s lucky charm from his back pocket and raised it high as he cruised to victory in the 17th stage of the Giro d’Italia for the best win of his career on Wednesday.
Jonas Vingegaard, meanwhile, finished safely with the peloton to protect his overall lead at the Grand Tour race.
Valgren explained his celebration by saying his son had given him a Pokémon chip in the team colors.
It was the first Giro win — and first Grand Tour win — for the 34-year-old Danish rider, who broke away from the leading group with about 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) to go in a perfectly timed run.
“This was missing from my resume. I think I deserved this,” Valgren said. “I think I’ve always said it to someone in the media: My career has been pretty good, but I needed this Grand Tour stage win.”
It was an uneventful stage for Vingegaard, who maintain his overall lead of more than four minutes.
Wednesday’s stage took riders back to Italy in a 202-kilometer (126-mile) route from Cassano d’Adda to Andalo. The 16th stage won by Vingegaard on Tuesday crossed the border into Switzerland.
In Thursday’s 18th stage, riders will stay in Italy to face an undulating route from start to finish.
The Giro ends on Sunday in Rome. The women’s Giro is from May 30 to June 7.
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