Results Giro d'Italia stage 15 - Fredrik Dversnes takes surprise breakaway win; peloton let yet another opportunity slip through their fingers

The 15th stage of the Giro d'Italia was completely flat and, theoretically, not very conducive to a breakaway. Yet, that's exactly what happened. The peloton lacked the strength to neutralize the modest early breakaway, and Fredrik Dversnes of the Uno-X achieved the biggest victory of his career.

The stage that concluded the second week was, unusually, completely flat. Voghera hosted the start, and the route headed towards Milan for a final circuit in the city center, which seemed tailor-made for a massive sprint. Times were completely neutralized on the final circuit, so the general classification contenders stayed away from the front, reducing the risk of crashes on a course that was not very technical, but with the inherent conditions of an urban environment.

The fight for the breakaway was neither long nor particularly competitive. Fredrik Dversnes (Uno-X), Martin Marcellusi (Bardiani), and the Polti duo, Mattia Bais and Mirco Maestri, formed the day's breakaway. The speed was extremely high, with no topographical obstacles, and the peloton recorded an average speed of over 51 km/h at the finish.

The sprinters' teams used their trains chasing the quartet and, already within the last 5 kilometers, the gap held and the chase began to stagnate, after Unibet Rose Rockets, Soudal - Quick-Step and Lidl-Trek burned their leadouts. The peloton ended up wasting the only opportunity for a peloton sprint of the week.

At the front, one of the Polti riders sacrificed himself for his teammate, as expected, with Bais facing the wind. But, to the disappointment of the Italian teams, it was Dversnes who showed the better legs at the end, securing a victory of great importance for Uno-X Mobility, which already had two second places with Andreas Leknessund. Maestri was second and Marcellusi third. A few seconds behind, Paul Magnier sprinted to fifth place and regained the lead in the points classification.