Maxim Belkov (Katusha) won Sunday’s stage 9 of the Giro d’Italia, from Sansepolcro to Florence through the beautiful Tuscan hills, on another rain-affected day of racing.

It was a brilliant solo effort; the 28-year-old Russian rider was on the attack for 150km, first as part of a breakaway, and then alone.

“Although I’m a time trial specialist, I decided that yesterday’s time trial was very hard,” the triumphant Russian explained afterwards. “I looked at the road book and I thought a breakaway might get away today, and I thought it would be better to save my legs and try to get into it. I thought that was the best use of my energy.”

Plagued by cramps
“I knew they were riding very hard behind me, and I was never certain I would win. I simply did the best I could. In the final 2km, I had so many cramps I could hardly think. I’ve won 3 team time trials, and this is the first individual win. I made a similar attack in the Tour of Turkey, but I was caught. It was good preparation for this race, and now I have my first individual win, which is very important for me.”