Cycling: Astana Proteam racer receives bronze at Giro d'Italia race

The final podium of the 2014 Giro d'Italia: Rigoberto Uran, Nairo Quintana and Fabio Aru (ProTeam Astana).ProTeam Astana racer Fabio Aru has become the bronze prizewinner of the prestigious 2014 Giro d'Italia cycling race that was held from May 9 - June 1, 2014, tengrinews reports.

Colombian rider Nairo Quintana from Spanish Movistar team won the 2014 Giro d'Italia race followed by Colombian rider from Belgian Omega Pharma-Quick Step Rigoberto Uran and Italian Fabio Aru from ProTeam Astana.

The manager of  ProTeam Astana Alexandr Vinokurov said that it was a pleasant surprise. “Aru is a young rider, he is 23 years old. He started without any pressure. Of course, I knew he was talented, and this was the reason why we signed a contract with him, but I believed that if he ended up in the Top 5, it would already be a success,” Alexander Vinokurov said commenting on Fabio Aru's achievement. 

After the 2014 Giro d'Italia race finished, Union Cycliste Internationale (International Cycling Union), the world governing body for cycling sports, updated individual and team rankings of bicycle racers, as well as the rankings of the countries taking into account the achievements at the 2014 Giro d'Italia race. The ranking table is available here. 

This win made Fabio Aru the best racer of Proteam Astana placing him on 21st place with 124 points. The winner of 2014 Giro d'Italia race Nairo Quintana ranks first with 345 points, while the former leader of the ranking Spanish Alberto Kontador from Russian Tinkoff-Saxowith 308 points ranks second. Australian Simon Gerrans from Belgian Orica GreenEDGEcloses the top three with 264 points.

In the team ranking, Proteam Astana having 282 points was elevated from the 15th to 13th place. The leader is Belgian Omega Pharma-Quick Step with 789 points followed by Spanish Movistar with 776 points and French AG2R La Mondiale with 542 points.

In the countries ranking, Kazakhstan with 1 point is ranked 29th. The leader is Spain with 805 points followed by Colombia with 684 points and Australia with 611.

Giro d’Italia is an annual stage bicycle race, which is primarily held in Italy, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries.

Along with the Tour de France and Vuelta a España, the Giro is one of Europe's cycling prestigious three-week-long Grand Tours. The Giro is usually held in late May and early June. Like the other Grand Tours, the Giro d'Italia race usually consists of 21 day-long stages over a 23-day period with 2 rest days.

All of the stages are timed to the finish. After finishing the riders' times are compounded with their previous stage times. The rider with the lowest aggregate time is the leader of the race and gets the pink jersey. 

This year Giro d'Italia started in Belfast on May 9, 2014 and went across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.