Michael Storer holds onto main group on Prati di Tivo despite long breakaway: "I hoped to be lucky today, because you never know"
Cycling
Michael Storer was one of those escapees in the eighth stage of the Giro d'Italia who hoped to leap forward in the GC while fighting for the stage win on Prati di Tivo. Frankly, Tadej Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates had different idea and never allowed the breakaway to get a significant lead. Thus the stage was decided between the main favourites.
Storer himself held on in the front group quite nicely, arriving 9th on the day, only 13 seconds behind stage winner Pogacar. This results comes with a well-deserved move up the overall ranking for the Tudor Pro Cycling leader, who sits in 12th place, one second behind 11th Alexey Lutsenko after eight days of racing.
"I hoped that UAE would give us a little more space, but unfortunately," Storer told Eurosport. "It was also a shame that no one had a teammate who completely exhausted himself for the other. That was strange, because there were teams with several riders at the front. I hoped to be lucky today, because you never know."
"In the end I lost little energy and I also rode reservedly," the Australian puts things into perspective. "I quickly understood that the breakaway would not make it. I also started with a small lead on the Prati di Tivo and that was nice. The forty seconds allowed me to maintain a steady pace until we got caught. That way I could save some strength."
The Tudor rider also sheds light on the control of UAE Emirates. "There was a lot of headwind today and there was no full commitment from the men in the breakaway. UAE just rode at their own pace and at the front we were actually riding quite slowly. If we had a few more men who really wanted to race fast, we could have progressed further."
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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