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Caleb Ewan misses another bunch sprint in stage 11 Giro d’Italia

Caleb Ewan’s wait for a first win in this year’s Giro d’Italia continues after being sprinted on stage 11 by unannounced Italian Alberto Dainese.

Ewan had no legs on the straight-up to Reggio Emilia at the end of the 203km stage, finishing in fifth place.

The Australian appeared to be in an ideal position in the last hundred meters but ran out of gas as the line approached.

Fernando Gaviria finished in second place, and Simone Consonni finished third.

Two-time stage winner of this year’s race and general classification leader Arnaud Demare finished fourth, with Mark Cavendish sixth.

Caleb Ewan left; he couldn’t match his rivals’ sprint. (Getty Images: Tim de Waele)

The final sprint came after a stunning solo effort by Dries de Bondt of Alpecin-Fenix, who came within 1,200m of a stage win after holding back the chasing peloton for more than 50km.

The Australian has endured a tough Giro d’Italia so far, crashing out on the first stage and missing out on the sixth stage win by half a wheel width.

In Tuesday’s race, Ewan was one of the first riders to be dropped, finishing all alone, in the last, more than half an hour behind stage winner Biniam Girmay.

In an Instagram post on Tuesday, Ewan wrote that since his stage one crash, he felt his Giro “just kept going downhill” but “hoped to turn it around” in Wednesday’s stage.

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However, he was in good company at the pointed end of Wednesday’s track, with the sprint teams of Lotto-Soudal, Groupema-FDJ, and Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl making their presence felt during a fast-paced day of racing.

The 203km stage from Santarcangelo di Romagna to Reggio Emilia could be a slow day.

However, an easy day was never on the agenda as the podium burst into life midway through as the peloton, startled by the prospect of crosswinds, picked up the pace through Bologna.

Ewan was briefly shocked when he was caught by the change in pace, although the 27-year-old was able to reconnect as the group slowed down.

However, the calm in the pack was fleeting as Cavendish’s Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl team, and Ineos Grenadiers injected another wave to create a split for the second intermediate sprint.

The pack, however, came back together until de Bondt was allowed to drift off the front in his gallant solo effort. With 55km to go, the Belgian dangled from the show before finally being hauled in with just over a kilometer to go.

Richard Carapaz took a three-second bonus in the second intermediate sprint and moved to second in the general classification.

Dries De Bondt launched a 55km solo effort to come within two kilometers of a famous win. (Getty Images: Michael Steele)

Juan Pedro López Pérez retains the overall lead in the race of the Maglia Rosa, 12 seconds ahead of João Almeida and Carapaz.

Australian Jai Hindley, who was well protected by his Bora-Hansgrohe team, remains in fifth place.

Dorothy R. Barrett

I’m a full-time blogger by passion. This is my first blog, and I'm excited to share everything that I love about technology, business, and lifestyle with you. I’m a writer by trade, and I can be found writing about tech, business, and lifestyle on my personal blog.

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