Fourth and final stage of the Giro di Sicilia 2023 , it is the queen stage: it goes from Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto to Giarre with 216km and a good 4122 meters in altitude. On the descent of Etna about 50km from the finish the big names begin to battle; at the beginning of the last climb of the day, the Culmine di Scorciavacca, Gossens, Garofoli and Donovan have a 30” advantage over a sextet formed by Caruso, Lutsenko, Guerin, Albanese, Zoccarato and Petilli and 1' over the main group with the leader of General Fisher-Black. Caruso and Lutsenko manage to quickly get back on the leading trio, but the decisive moment is at -25km when Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan Team) attacks and manages to detach all the others. The Kazakh takes the lead with 32" on Meintjes (Intermarché - Circus - Wanty) and 50" on the Fisher-Black group. Lutsenko gains a few seconds in the downhill, manages the advantage in the last 10 kilometers of the plain and arrives alone at the finish line in Giarre: for him he wins the stage and the general classification . Meintjes closes 2nd, while 3rd comes Albanese who regulates the chasing group. On the other hand, the outgoing champion Damiano Caruso collapsed on the last climb.

ARRIVAL ORDER:

1 LUTSENKO Alexey Astana Qazaqstan Team 5:29:50

2     MEINTJES Louis Intermarché - Circus - Wanty 0:40

3     ALBANIAN Vincenzo EOLO-Kometa 1:13

4     VOISARD Yannis Tudor Pro Cycling Team ,,

5     GOOSSENS Kobe Intermarché - Circus - Wanty,,

6     DONOVAN Mark Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team,,

7     PETILLI Simone Intermarché - Circus - Wanty 1:15

8     FISHER-BLACK Finn UAE Team Emirates ,,

9     MAJKA Rafał UAE Team Emirates 1:24

10   ZOCCARATO Samuele Green Project-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè 2:52

FINAL GENERAL RANKING:

1      LUTSENKO Alexey     Astana Qazaqstan Team 16:55:50

2      MEINTJES Louis   Intermarché-Circus-Wanty       + 44

3      ALBANIAN Vincenzo EOLO-Kometa Cycling Team       + 01:07

4      FISHER-BLACK Finn     UAE Team Emirates          + 01:07

5 DONOVAN Mark     Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team          + 01:20

6      GOOSSENS Kobe     Intermarché-Circus-Wanty    + 01:21

7      VOISARD Yannis     Tudor Pro Cycling Team         + 01:23

8      PETILLI Simone   Intermarché-Circus-Wanty       + 01:25

9      MAJKA Rafal      UAE Team Emirates                     + 01:34

10   ZOCCARATO Samuele     Green Project-Bardiani CSF- Faizanè     + 03:56

Photo: Sprint Cycling Agency