The final stage of this year's Giro is a circuit around Udine. There's always a chance of an incident, but this should be the crowning stage for Taylor Phinney.
It should also be the 8th victory battle between the sprinters in this race. Many came with expectations, but two men have dashed the hopes of the rest. Daniele Bennati with 4 stages, and Ben Swift with 3. The most likely outcome today is that their score will either become 5-3 or 4-4.
A breakaway is quick to form.
Alexandr Nepomnyachsniy Ramon Sinkeldam Johann Tschopp Fabio Taborre Sep Vanmarcke Brian Vandborg Kevin Fouquet
Tschopp and Vandborg have been two of the most aggressive riders of the race, breakaway wise. Tschopp took a 4th place after a mountain stage escapade, while Vandborg managed to take 6th on Stage 14, followed by a 5th on Stage 18.
Infact all have been in the action. Sinkeldam took 2nd on Stage 14, while Fouquet has a best of 3rd on Stage 18. Nepomnyachsniy can only look on in envy, after he was denied victory in Stage 11 when his breakaway was caught in the final kilometres.
Vanmarcke meanwhile, has a best stage result of 92nd. Every single other rider in the race has had a better single stage performance than him.
In the peloton, Taylor Phinney is surrounded by teammates - towards the front of the peloton, as usual.
Meanwhile sat at the back is Lanterne Rouge Andrei Nechita
No work to do for Wikipedia today though, with Puma-SAP and Vesuvio-Accumalux keeping close attention to the breakaway from an early stage. They aren't going to be taking any risks this time.
Pokerstars join in at 20km to go and they home in on the breakaway.
Nepomnyachsniy, Vanmarcke, Fouquet and Sinkeldam hold out for the longest, but are caught with around 7km remaining.
And forward come the sprint trains.
Enrico Gasparotto Thomas Vedel Kvist Daniele Bennati Allan Davis Juan Van Heerden
Pedro Merino Criado Steven Caethoven Ben Swift Cameron Meyer Juan José Haedo Kobe Vanoverschelde Anthony Lavoine Luke Rowe
Martijn Maaskant Erik Mohs John Degenkolb Romain Vanderbiest Claudio Corioni
As usual, it is Puma and Vesuvio who are strongest.
Kvist moves into the lead as the sprint begins, ahead of Caethoven. But no surprises that starting early is Van Heerden!
Degenkolb has left behind Mohs. Meyer and Davis are up there, but the other sprinters have already been gapped. And approaching the final kilometre, Bennati has opened up his sprint and immediately viered over to the right.
It's one of those rare good stages for Juan Van Heerden, it seems, as he opens up a gap. Can he be the one to break the pattern?
Swift has made his move now, and had a little advantage on Bennati after the Italian struggled to reach max speed straight away.
Together they start to close the gap to Van Heerden
Swift takes the lead, but flying on his tail are Anthony Lavoine and Luke Rowe. Erik Mohs is also closing.
Can Bennati fight back to take his 5th stage?
Not today, and Swift takes victory!
Ben Swift bookends the Giro with victories, and levels it at 4 stages each with Daniele Bennati. A fair result, given their close rivalry. Swift will take 2nd in the Points Classification, while Bennati will be forced to share 3rd with Spilak.
Lavoine takes an impressive 3rd. His best result on the 7 previous sprint finishes was 13th!
It is 4th for Erik Mohs. Not a great Grand Tour for him - I wonder if the problem could be that Degenkolb is too fast a leadout for him? Swift and Bennati had slower leadout riders who both did a better job at guiding them into position.
Rowe, Davis and Richeze were next. The unteachable Van Heerden fades at the finish again for 8th. Then rounding out the Top 10 are Ciolek and Haedo.
Finishing 15th, Taylor Phinney has won the Giro!
1
Ben Swift
Vesuvio - Accumalux
3h43'58
2
Daniele Bennati
Team Puma - SAP
s.t.
3
Anthony Lavoine
Festina-Canal+
s.t.
4
Erik Mohs
Pokerstars.com
s.t.
5
Luke Rowe
Wiggle Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
6
Allan Davis
Hollister Pro Cycling
s.t.
7
Maximiliano Richeze
UBS - BMC
s.t.
8
Juan Van Heerden
Simply Red Bull
s.t.
9
Gerald Ciolek
Lotto - Cervelo
s.t.
10
Juan José Haedo
Heineken presented by California Giant Berry Farms
s.t.
11
Romain Vanderbiest
Pearl Adidas
s.t.
12
John Degenkolb
Pokerstars.com
s.t.
13
Claudio Corioni
Pro Team Venchi - Sugoi
s.t.
14
Steven Caethoven
Vesuvio - Accumalux
s.t.
15
Taylor Phinney
Wikipedia
s.t.
16
Pedro Merino Criado
Vesuvio - Accumalux
s.t.
17
Kobe Vanoverschelde
Aker - MOT
s.t.
18
Thomas Vedel Kvist
Team Puma - SAP
s.t.
19
Cameron Meyer
Koenigsegg
s.t.
20
Yuri Trofimov
Koenigsegg
s.t.
21
Simon Spilak
Aker - MOT
s.t.
22
Enrico Gasparotto
Team Puma - SAP
s.t.
23
Gianni Meersman
Team Puma - SAP
s.t.
24
Juan Pablo Forero
Milka - AVG
s.t.
25
Martijn Maaskant
Pokerstars.com
s.t.
26
Sébastien Minard
Team Puma - SAP
s.t.
27
John-Lee Augustyn
Aker - MOT
s.t.
28
Kristian Sobota
Team B&O
s.t.
29
Marcel Kittel
Vesuvio - Accumalux
s.t.
30
Welle Jallays
Pokerstars.com
s.t.
31
Peter Velits
Project 1t4i
s.t.
32
Romain Sicard
Pearl Adidas
s.t.
33
Ryan Eastman
Heineken presented by California Giant Berry Farms
s.t.
34
Thomas De Gendt
Vesuvio - Accumalux
s.t.
35
Matteo Trentin
Project 1t4i
s.t.
36
Mickaël Delage
Team Puma - SAP
s.t.
37
Vincenzo Nibali
UBS - BMC
s.t.
38
Jesus Del Nero
Santander
s.t.
39
Markus Fothen
Festina-Canal+
s.t.
40
Christoph Mai
Wikipedia
s.t.
41
Riccardo Ricco
Team Bacardi
s.t.
42
Diego Ulissi
Festina-Canal+
s.t.
43
Martin Hacecký
Team B&O
s.t.
44
Sergio Luis Henao Montoya
Milka - AVG
s.t.
45
David Boucher
Pokerstars.com
s.t.
46
Nico Keinath
Team B&O
s.t.
47
Fabio Duarte
Pro Team Venchi - Sugoi
s.t.
48
Gianpaolo Caruso
Cisco Cycling Team
s.t.
49
Robert Kiserlovski
Hollister Pro Cycling
s.t.
50
Nick Nuyens
Team Puma - SAP
s.t.
51
Jon Aberasturi
Project 1t4i
s.t.
52
David López Garcia
Santander
s.t.
53
Johannes Frohlinger
Project 1t4i
s.t.
54
Jos Van Emden
Project 1t4i
s.t.
55
Angel Madrazo
Santander
s.t.
56
Jocelyn Bar
Team Puma - SAP
s.t.
57
Leopold König
Milka - AVG
s.t.
58
Nikola Aistrup
Team B&O
s.t.
59
Aleksandr Efimkin
Cisco Cycling Team
s.t.
60
Lucas Schädlich
Team Bacardi
s.t.
61
Alexandr Nepomnyachsniy
Milka - AVG
s.t.
62
Troels Vinter
Team B&O
s.t.
63
Nikias Arndt
Team B&O
s.t.
64
Aleksandr Dyachenko
Cisco Cycling Team
s.t.
65
Yevgeni Nepomnyachsniy
Milka - AVG
s.t.
66
Thibaut Pinot
Wikipedia
s.t.
67
Daniel Navarro
Team Bacardi
s.t.
68
Jelle Wallays
Pokerstars.com
s.t.
69
Michał Kwiatkowski
Team B&O
s.t.
70
José Joaquin Rojas Gil
Aker - MOT
s.t.
71
Nick Ingels
Pokerstars.com
s.t.
72
Travis Meyer
Wikipedia
s.t.
73
Marco Brus
Festina-Canal+
s.t.
74
Salvatore Mancuso
Team Bacardi
s.t.
75
Kristjan Koren
Heineken presented by California Giant Berry Farms
s.t.
76
Carlos Betancourt
Hollister Pro Cycling
s.t.
77
Julien Vermote
Pokerstars.com
s.t.
78
Vegard Robinson Bugge
Aker - MOT
s.t.
79
Benoît Sinner
Festina-Canal+
s.t.
80
Ioannis Tamouridis
Festina-Canal+
s.t.
81
Didac Ortega
Santander
s.t.
82
Jetse Bol
Team Puma - SAP
s.t.
83
Juraj Sagan
Team B&O
s.t.
84
Tyler Brandt
Heineken presented by California Giant Berry Farms
s.t.
85
Paride Grillo
Koenigsegg
s.t.
86
Moris Possoni
Cisco Cycling Team
s.t.
87
Matea Kvasina
Vesuvio - Accumalux
s.t.
88
Chris Anker Sørensen
Festina-Canal+
s.t.
89
Jay McCarthy
Wikipedia
s.t.
90
Santo Anza
Koenigsegg
s.t.
91
Matthieu Sprick
Wikipedia
s.t.
92
Simon Zahner
UBS - BMC
s.t.
93
Richard Ochoa Quintero
Hollister Pro Cycling
s.t.
94
Rafael Serrano
Santander
s.t.
95
Cristiano Salerno
Cisco Cycling Team
s.t.
96
Fabio Taborre
Cisco Cycling Team
s.t.
97
Francisco José Terciado
Team Bacardi
s.t.
98
Gediminas Bagdonas
Team Bacardi
s.t.
99
Maciej Paterski
Vesuvio - Accumalux
s.t.
100
Sep Vanmarcke
Pro Team Venchi - Sugoi
s.t.
101
Tim Dees
Festina-Canal+
s.t.
102
Ramon Sinkeldam
Project 1t4i
s.t.
103
Ben Gastauer
Vesuvio - Accumalux
s.t.
104
Alexandre Shushemoin
Aker - MOT
s.t.
105
Gustavo Veloso
Santander
s.t.
106
Mathieu Perget
Team Bacardi
s.t.
107
Artem Topchanyuk
Aker - MOT
s.t.
108
Valerio Agnoli
Pro Team Venchi - Sugoi
s.t.
109
Jocelin Maillet
Pearl Adidas
s.t.
110
Brian Vandborg
Team B&O
s.t.
111
Gianluca Brambilla
Pro Team Venchi - Sugoi
s.t.
112
Juan Carlos Rienda Segura
Santander
s.t.
113
Reinhardt Janse van Rensburg
Wikipedia
s.t.
114
Lars Croket
Lotto - Cervelo
s.t.
115
Joseph Cooper
Simply Red Bull
s.t.
116
Andreas Stauff
Lotto - Cervelo
s.t.
117
Emanuele Sella
Simply Red Bull
s.t.
118
Ion Izagirre
Hollister Pro Cycling
s.t.
119
Ivan Santaromita
UBS - BMC
s.t.
120
Jackson Rodríguez
Pearl Adidas
s.t.
121
Rafel Majka
Project 1t4i
s.t.
122
Vitor Rodrigues
Hollister Pro Cycling
s.t.
123
Aitor Hernández Gutierrez
Santander
s.t.
124
Kiril Yatsevich
Team Bacardi
s.t.
125
Thomas Peterson
Heineken presented by California Giant Berry Farms
s.t.
126
Elia Viviani
Simply Red Bull
s.t.
127
Philipp Walsleben
Vesuvio - Accumalux
s.t.
128
Darwin Atapuma
Wikipedia
s.t.
129
Yonathan Monsalve
Hollister Pro Cycling
s.t.
130
Mohammad Saufi Mat Senan
Project 1t4i
s.t.
131
Tim Kennaugh
Pendleton's
s.t.
132
Kenny Elissonde
Wikipedia
s.t.
133
Mauro Facci
Simply Red Bull
s.t.
134
Bernhard Kohl
Pendleton's
s.t.
135
Anthony José Brea
Hollister Pro Cycling
s.t.
136
Pim Ligthart
Heineken presented by California Giant Berry Farms
s.t.
137
Taylor Tolleson
Heineken presented by California Giant Berry Farms
s.t.
138
Sergio Pardilla
Team Bacardi
s.t.
139
Alessandro Ballan
Koenigsegg
s.t.
140
Matej Vysna
Milka - AVG
s.t.
141
George Bennett
Simply Red Bull
s.t.
142
Coen Vermeltfoort
Lotto - Cervelo
s.t.
143
Max Öste-Macdonald
Koenigsegg
s.t.
144
Petar Panayotov
Pearl Adidas
s.t.
145
Adam Blythe
Wiggle Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
146
Bert-Jan Lindeman
Koenigsegg
s.t.
147
Michael Vanderaerden
Lotto - Cervelo
s.t.
148
Oumaru Minoungou
Pendleton's
s.t.
149
Morgan Kneisky
Pearl Adidas
s.t.
150
Johann Tschopp
UBS - BMC
s.t.
151
Christophe Riblon
UBS - BMC
s.t.
152
Manuel Lloret
Lotto - Cervelo
s.t.
153
Jakub Kratochvila
Milka - AVG
s.t.
154
Thomas Faiers
Pendleton's
s.t.
155
Michael Matthews
Heineken presented by California Giant Berry Farms
s.t.
156
Andrei Nechita
Project 1t4i
s.t.
157
Joseph Biziyaremye
Aker - MOT
s.t.
158
Ruben Ibanez
Pendleton's
s.t.
159
Marco Corti
Pro Team Venchi - Sugoi
s.t.
160
Adrian Malori
Wiggle Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
161
Alex Howes
Heineken presented by California Giant Berry Farms
Alexandr Nepomnyachsniy
Ramon Sinkeldam
Johann Tschopp
Fabio Taborre
Sep Vanmarcke
Brian Vandborg
Allan Davis
Juan Van Heerden
Pedro Merino Criado
Ben Swift
Juan José Haedo
Anthony Lavoine
Erik Mohs
