The 13th is another stage that should be won by a sprinter. The route is only 122 kilometers long today, which should allow some of the riders that made a bigger effort yesterday to recover a little bit. Nevertheless, the sprinters will have to work harder than usual because there is a small hill with 5 kilometers to go that will favor those that handle the hills better.
The main bunch did not go crazy today in trying to chase the break down and a group of 5 easily opened a gap and reached the only categorized climb of the day, Montezemolo, ahead. The 5 riders were Joost van Leijen (Vacansoleil), Bradley Wiggins (Katusha), Maxim Iglinskiy (Tinkoff), Ruben Plaza (Discovery) and Rafal Majka (Garmin). At the top of the climb, with 90 kilometers to go, they had a gap of 4 minutes on the bunch. Trek, Lotto and Astana were leading the pack but they were not in a rush to bring them back.
The intermediate sprint was placed in Carru, 38 kilometers to the finish line. The sprint of the group was won by Jose Joaquin Rojas, who beat Marcel Kittel and Andre Greipel in the sprint. Greipel looked quite slow in the final sprint, not showing the great speed that made him win two stages. The break was 2' 30'' ahead, so they were going to have it very difficult to make it to the finish line. HTC is not helping much bringing back the break but it could be a good stage for Rojas considering there is a small hill with 5 kilometers to go.
There was a massive crash in the peloton with 15 kilometers remaining involving at least 40 riders. It led to Michele Scarponi and Kanstantsin Siutsou. The Italian was 10th in the GC before the stage but it seems unlikely that he will keep the place after today even though Movistar has left a few riders to help him back. The worst part of the crash was for Roman Kreuziger, who had to retire due to an injury. Meanwhile, with 10 kilometers remaining the break had only 30 seconds over the bunch and their chances were effectively over.
The last hill before the finish made a lot of the riders that were pushing at the front of the pack lose positions and only HTC was able to build a sort of sprint train. Borut Bozic was going to be the rider leading Jose Joaquin Rojas out. A few of the other sprinters were lining up behind the Spaniard, like Ben Swift, Marcel Kittel and Kenny van Hummel. Meanwhile, Simon Gerrans is trying to help Andre Greipel back to the front.
It seemed like Jose Joaquin Rojas had started his sprint way too early today. The Spaniard left his leadout man behind with 1.5 kilometers to go and might be doing the entire job for Ben Swift and Marcel Kittel. Andre Greipel was around the eighth position at that point and Lloyd Mondory is joining the sprint as well, something he had not done in the Giro so far.
Jose Joaquin Rojas did actually start too early because Ben Swift had already gotten past him with 600 meters to go. The British was in a perfect position at that stage because Rojas, who was second on the road, was starting to fade and Marcel Kittel could not quite keep up with his speed. Meanwhile, Kenny van Hummel and Tyler Farrar seemed to be a bit far already to be contending for the stage win. Andre Greipel had not been very quick in the intermediate sprint and he is again showing signs that he is not on top shape anymore.
Ben Swift wins in Cervere! The British was quickest in the final sprint and takes his second win this season, following the one he got in the Tour de Romandie. Swift might not be the best sprinter in terms of raw speed but becomes very dangerous when there are difficulties close to the finish line. The second place went to Tyler Farrar, who seems to be very fit in this part of the Giro. It is a shame for him that the mountains start and he will not have many chances to win again.
The third place went to Marcel Kittel, while Kenny van Hummel and Jose Joaquin Rojas rounded the top 5. This will be the last easy stage in a while as the next two days bring mountain top finishes at Cervinia and Piani dei Resinelli. It will be the time for the favorites to start fighting properly for the Giro.
The race finally made its way towards the Alps and the 14th will be the first stage in the big mountains this year. The first part of the stage towards Cervinia will be very flat but the last 65 kilometers are very difficult. The Col de Joux will come first, climbing to more than 1,600 meters, while the final climb will finish in the sky resort of Cervinia. Today should give a hint on who might have a chance of being in the podium of the Giro. It is probably not a day to win the Giro but it might be a day to lose it.
No team cared too much about the break at the start of the stage and that led to a big group of 10 riders taking the lead. They reached the intermediate sprint in Ivrea with a gap of 8 minutes on the bunch. Among the riders in the break were Janez Brajkovic (Quickstep), Jose Serpa (Ag2r), Francesco Gavazzi (Cannondale), David Millar (Vacansoleil) and Franco Pellizotti (Astana). Lotto was taking the main responsibility to chase but they got some help sporadically from Lampre and Trek.
Lotto put the whole team to work at the bottom of the Col de Joux to make the stage a bit harder and bring the break back a little bit. With 62 kilometers remaining, 18 to the top of the Col de Joux, Jose Serpa was the virtual leader thanks to the 8 minutes the break enjoyed ahead of the bunch. The toughest part of the Col de Joux is the first five kilometers and even Bjorn Leukemans, the World Champion, is working at the front of the pack for his leader.
The riders in the break reached the top of the Col de Joux, 44 kilometers to the finish line, with a gap of 6' 30'' over the main bunch. Lotto had started to pull hard at the bottom of the climb but gave themselves a respite halfway through even though they were still leading the way. It is of significance that there are still more than 100 riders in the bunch. In the break it was Janez Brajkovic who worked at the front in the last difficult kilometers of the climb but Franco Pellizotti took the KoM points at the top. From the top of the climb they have an 18 kilometers long descent before tackling the last climb of the day.
BMC started to work for Peter Stetina at the bottom of the long climb to Cervinia but their plans did not last long as Michele Scarponi attacked almost from the bottom of the mountain. The Italian is an outsider but the rest of the favorites should not let him take time. With 20 kilometers remaining Robert Gesink and Mikel Nieve had jumped to follow Scarponi and were trailing 15 seconds behind. Meanwhile, the group of the favorites was losing units very quickly even though they were already 1 minute behind the Italian.
Juanjo Cobo attacked from the group of the leader and joined Michele Scarponi, Robert Gesink and Mikel Nieve with 15 kilometers to go. The break was losing time very quickly and they only had 2 minutes over this group of 4. Jerome Coppel and Denis Menchov were also ahead of Vanendert's group, which was still losing 1 minute to the 4 riders. It seems like only the riders that lost time in the first couple of weeks are on the attack and the others can afford the luxury of playing it safely. Laurens Ten Dam is leading the group of the leader in this easier part of the climb.
Juanjo Cobo and Robert Gesink took the lead of the race with 10 kilometers to go after leaving Michele Scarponi, Mikel Nieve and the riders from the break behind. However, the pace in the group of the leader finally picked up and they are only 25 seconds behind the two leaders on the road. The gaps are still small but the riders still have to cover almost half of the climb. For now the riders that are close in the GC have kept a low profile and have not attacked.
Robert Gesink left Juanjo Cobo behind and will try to win the stage solo. Laurens Ten Dam decided that enough was enough and shoots behind his fellow Dutchman. At the 6 kilometers mark Ten Dam is only losing 15 seconds to Gesink and closing the gap. 30 seconds behind Gesink are Frank Schleck and Michele Scarponi, while Cobo his dropping back fast. The group of the leader had been reduced to 7 riders at this point and Jelle Vanendert was starting to take the matters into his own hands.
Robert Gesink held off the chase by Laurens Ten Dam and the Dutch is even distancing his chasers. With 3 kilometers to go Peter Stetina joined Laurens Ten Dam but they are 35 seconds behind Gesink. Frank Schleck and Michele Scarponi are losing 55 seconds while the leader, Jelle Vanendert, and Rob Ruijgh are losing 1' 05''. The differences are going to be bigger than expected at the finish line. Cervinia's slopes might not be the hardest but they are enough to make a difference. The rider that seems to be losing the most is Bauke Mollema, the Dutch might lose his chances to win the Giro already.
Peter Stetina managed to leave Laurens Ten Dam behind but it is going to be impossible for him to catch Robert Gesink. The Dutch was already entering the last kilometer of the stage. Stetina is pushing hard trying to get the pink jersey already but Jelle Vanendert is reacting well to his difficult position and left Rob Ruijgh behind. Ten Dam seems to be suffering in the last part of the climb and is probably paying for his efforts working at the front of the main group in the easier part of the climb.
Robert Gesink wins in Cervinia! It was a perfect day for the Ag2r rider, who takes his first win with the French team. Gesink has clearly made a statement today with the way he won the stage. If it had not been for the time he lost in the first week he would be the favorite to win the Giro. Peter Stetina limited his loss to 22 seconds at the end of the stage, while Jelle Vanendert had a great final rush and was third losing only 30 seconds.
Laurens Ten Dam was fourth, while Michele Scarponi and Rob Ruijgh were the first riders to arrive together, already more than 1 minute behind Gesink. The biggest loser of the day was probably Bauke Mollema, who narrowly keeps the fourth place in the GC after losing 1' 37'' today. The Vacansoleil rider will have to improve in the following days if he wants to get a good result from the Giro.
A mountain stage follows another in the third weekend of the Giro d'Italia. The race moves to the East today, around the area where the Giro di Lombardia has been raced in the past few years, including the climb to Valcava halfway through the stage. The route will then circle around Lecco and will finish in Piani dei Resinelli, only a few kilometers north of the town. Today is a good day to confirm the good performances by Robert Gesink and Peter Stetina in Cervinia.
The break was on the large side today as 11 riders made it into the front group. Among the most important riders were Janez Brajkovic (Quickstep), Beñat Intxausti and Pablo Lastras (Discovery), Giovanni Visconti (Trek), Carlos Barredo (Euskaltel) and Przemyslaw Niemiec (Movistar). At the intermediate sprint in Lecco, 104 kilometers to the finish line, their gap was not too big: 3' 45''. Lotto is controlling the gap and is not allowing the gap to grow too much in the flat.
Lotto was still setting the pace at the pack in the climb to the Valico di Valcava. However, the Belgian team was taking things easy in the climb and they let the gap to the break grow to 8 minutes at the top of the climb, with 81 kilometers to go. Even though the climb is very hard, almost no riders had lost contact with the main bunch and the fact that John Degenkolb was still at the front of the pack gave a hint that the pace was not too high. In the break the only rider interested in the KoM points was Pablo Lastras, who easily took the 16 points available.
The second climb of the day was the Forcella di Bura, which top was 41 kilometers from the finish line. Pablo Lastras kept collecting points in the KoM classification but it was not enough yet to get in the top 3. The break had lost Giovanni Visconti, who crashed in the descent of Valcava and will not make it back in the break. Meanwhile, the peloton seemed to have given up the stage win to the break as the gap was already 10 minutes.
Janez Brajkovic and Beñat Intxausti were the most active riders in the break at the climb to the Culmine di San Pietro. It is strange that with two riders in the break for Discovery it is the strongest in the mountains, Intxausti, who is working. That should probably be Pablo Lastras' job. With 6 kilometers still remaining to the top of the climb the gap to the main bunch had increased a bit more, to 10' 40''. This practically guaranteed the success of the break. Meanwhile, Rigoberto Uran is working for Lotto in the bunch, which would suggest that the pace is a bit harder.
The attacks from the favorites surprisingly started in the last part of the Culmine di San Pietro. Rob Ruijgh had not had a good day yesterday and wanted to turn things around in the GC. The defending champion of the Giro attacked hard and reached the top of the climb alone. He was being followed by Robert Gesink, who wanted to repeat his long run to the finish as he did yesterday. However, the group of the leader was only 35 seconds behind Ruijgh at the top of the climb and with 80 riders at it the descent towards the bottom of Piani dei Resinelli was going to be difficult for Ruijgh.
Carlos Barredo, Rafal Majka and Arthur Vichot attacked from the break in the descent before the last climb of the day, Piani dei Resinelli. However, their adventure was not too long and they were reeled back in by the rest of the riders in the break shortly after the start of the climb. This last climb is a bit more than 7 kilometers long, averaging almost 8%. Meanwhile, Rob Ruijgh is still 20 seconds ahead of the main bunch but Robert Gesink is back in the group of the leader.
Emanuele Sella took the lead of the group of the favorites and he quickly caught Rob Ruijgh in the climb. With 5 kilometers remaining it seemed like the Italian was preparing the ground for an attack by Peter Stetina. However, Jelle Vanendert was always at the front of the group and was an imposing figure. The Belgian was probably trying to keep the attacks from starting far from the finish line. Only 22 riders remained in this group. At the front of the race Rafal Majka and Arthur Vichot were on the attack again and had a gap of 15 seconds on the rest of the group.
Rafal Majka and Arthur Vichot did not last long at the front of the race and with 3 kilometers to go it is Ivan Santaromita who tries to go solo for the stage win. However, the Italian is soon closed down by the stronger climbers in the group. Janez Brajkovic and Beñat Intxausti are the top climbers in the break but they seem happy to stay in the group and wait for a late attack. Carlos Barredo and Damiano Caruso seem to be suffering to hold on with the front group. Their gap has fallen down to 3 minutes but it seems enough. In the main group Robert Gesink and Michele Scarponi tried to attack but Jelle Vanendert is now setting the pace and the leader is keeping all the favorites together in this second stage in the Alps.
Bauke Mollema has been unable to follow the group of the favorites again and it seems like he will not be fighting for the podium in the Giro. It seems like the Italian race is not designed for him because he also was very unlucky 2 years ago with the crashes. The break was entering the last kilometer of the race and they had left it all for a last kilometer rush to decide the winner of the stage. The group of the leader was constantly losing riders due to the high pace by Jelle Vanendert. No one was able to successfully attack him and it looks like he will keep the pink jersey for one more day.
Beñat Intxausti wins in Piani dei Resinelli! The Spaniard from Discovery Channel had worked hard the whole day for Pablo Lastras to take the KoM jersey but he saved enough energy to beat the rest of the break in the last kilometer of the climb to Piani dei Resinelli. He narrowly beat Przemyslaw Niemiec, Janez Brajkovic and Damiano Caruso. Brajkovic will be very disappointed considering he was the best climber along with Intxausti and Quickstep is the only World Tour team that still has to take the first win of the year.
Among the favorites, Peter Stetina was the strongest and took advantage of Jelle Vanendert's work to gain 11 seconds on him in the last kilometer. Laurens Tem Dam arrived together with Vanendert but other riders lost more time. A group of 6, including Robert Gesink and Rob Ruijgh lost 32 seconds against the American. Meanwhile, Bauke Mollema lost almost 2 minutes and falls to the 7th place in the GC.
The last week of racing starts with a transition stage between Limone sul Garda, in the shore of the Lake Garda, and Falzes, close to the heart of the Dolomites. Today's stage is difficult to predict as it looks perfect for a break. However, if a team wants to control the race the terrain is in general easy for them to do so. The final 20 kilometers will be the most interesting part of the stage with two short but steep climbs. The last of them will finish around 2 kilometers from the finish line, what should make it impossible for the sprinters to go for the stage.
Lotto surprisingly wanted to control the size of the break at the beginning of the stage and in doing so they missed Jurgen van den Broeck slipping into the final group that opened a gap. It would be unwise for them to let the Belgian get back into the top 10 of the GC and that will make them work. Among the other riders that made it into the group of 7 were Michael Rogers (Trek), Chris Sutton (Vacansoleil), Gregory Rast (Orica) and Franco Pellizotti (Astana). With 110 kilometers to go they had opened a gap of 4' 30'' and the race had settled down a little bit.
The intermediate sprint was placed in Bolzano, 71 kilometers from the finish line in Falzes. Even though not many points were on offer, a few sprinters tried to get them and it was Simone Ponzi who won the sprint ahead of Jose Joaquin Rojas and Ben Swift. The Italian could be one of the riders that have a chance today if the bunch decides to chase. The bunch was taking things easy today and the gap of the break had grown to 8 minutes at that point. The break might have a chance to take the win today because only Discovery Channel is helping Lotto set the pace and they are not in a rush to bring them back.
The stage continued to be quite easy for the main bunch and the riders in the break reached the first of the two climbs at the end of the stage with a gap of 6 minutes. With only 23 kilometers to go this seemed like a big enough gap for them not to worry about late attacks from riders wanting to gain a bit of time in the main bunch. Lotto was chasing but it was more to control the gap to Jurgen van den Broeck than to actually catch. As things stand, the Belgian and Michael Rogers should be the favorites to take the win in Falzes.
Today's stage was a good place for the riders in the GC that held the hills better than the mountains and Rui Costa did not want to miss that chance. The Portuguese attacked towards the end of the first of the hills and soon opened a gap of 20 seconds that he was still maintaining with 9 kilometers to go. Other riders tried to go with him, like Mikel Nieve and Simone Ponzi, but were unsuccessful. The attacks also started in the break. Jurgen van den Broeck and Maxim Iglinskiy left the rest of the break behind and had a 15 seconds gap but still much work to do.
Jurgen van den Broeck went alone in the last hill, leaving Maxim Iglinskiy behind. At the 3 kilometers mark he had a gap of 25 seconds that could well be enough to take the stage win in Falzes. The slope at that point was as much as 9%, which would be hurting some of the riders in the break, especially the only sprinter: Chris Sutton. Meanwhile, Rui Costa had been caught and it was Peter Stetina on the attack. The American attacked in the flat before the last hill and opened a gap of 30 seconds. If no one chases he might be the leader at the end of the stages but it seems unlikely.
Jurgen van den Broeck crossed the last kilometer mark 15 seconds ahead of his chasers and will most likely take the stage win today. Michael Rogers had attacked from the group and was leading the way ahead of Franco Pellizotti and Tom Slagter. As expected, riders like Gregory Rast and Chris Sutton suffered in the last climb and are too far behind to fight for the top places. Meanwhile, Jelle Vanendert took the lead of the bunch and reeled back Peter Stetina with a bit more than 2 kilometers to go. It looks like they will all finish together.
Jurgen van den Broeck wins in Falzes! It was strange that Lotto let the Belgian slip into the break and he did not disappoint, easily taking the win from the break by outclimbing the competition. This is the first win for Van den Broeck, who had not had a good season so far but with this win he will probably see things differently. The second place in the stage was for the fighter Franco Pellizotti. The Italian always tries to filter into the breaks and will surely keep looking for a win. The top 5 was completed by Michael Rogers, Tom Slagter and Gregory Rast.
Bjorn Leukemans and Simone Ponzi opened a small gap over the group of the leader in the last 2 kilometers but in the end it was Laurens Ten Dam who crossed the line in the 8th position. The Dutch attacked followed by Mikel Nieve and Bauke Mollema and caught the two riders in the last kilometer. Surprisingly, they managed to put 29 seconds between them and Jelle Vanendert's group.
This gap allows Ten Dam to close the gap with the podium; he is now only 2 seconds behind Rob Ruijgh. Meanwhile, Bauke Mollema regains the 6th place slightly ahead of Frank Schleck. It was a more important stage than expected beforehand because these small differences could play a role in the future of the race. Nevertheless, tomorrow's stage will put everyone in their place with the succession of Passo Duran, Forcella Staulanza and Passo Giau.
The first great stage of mountains in the Giro will take place between Falzes and Cortina d'Ampezzo. The first part of the stage is not that difficult, with only the Passo Valparola as a first difficulty of the day. However, the last 70 kilometers of the stage will feature three massive climbs: the Passo Duran, the Forcella Staulanza and the Passo Giau. The last of those, with almost 10 kilometers averaging 9.4%, is a climb to make differences before the final descent towards Cortina d'Ampezzo.
There was not a big fight for the break of the day and soon a group of 8 started to make big differences with the bunch. At the top of the Passo Valparola, with 112 kilometers remaining, they already had a gap of 8' 30'' on the bunch. Among the most important riders in the break were: Joaquim Rodriguez (Discovery), Julien Simon (Ag2r), Jose Serpa (Ag2r), Diego Ulissi (Lampre) and Lars Boom (Belkin). Lotto was leading the main bunch as usual but their pace was not going to leave anyone behind so far. Tinkoff was also appearing at the front but doing no relaying yet.
The final three climbs started with the very hard Passo Duran, a climb 12.2 kilometers long averaging more than 8% gradient. However, the bunch took it easy and, even though some riders were dropped, the number of riders in it was still big. Lotto was still using some weaker climbers to set the pace. That meant that the gap to the break had risen to 12 minutes at the top of the climb. The bad news came from Alexandre Vinokourov, who crashed from the break and especially from George Hincapie, who crashed out of the race and is the first retirement for the BMC team.
Some riders did not want to keeps things slow any longer and a few outsiders attacked at the bottom of the Forcella Staulanza. A group with Pieter Weening, Igor Anton and Levi Leipheimer had formed with 9 kilometers to go in the climb and 3 more riders were trying to join: Marco Pinotti, Martin Elmiger and Franco Pellizotti. The reaction from the bunch was not immediate and that allowed them to build a gap of 3 minutes halfway through the climb.
Julien Simon kept accumulating KoM points at the top of the Forcella Staulanza but this time he was second at the top of the climb as Jose Serpa beat him. Nevertheless, the French was already close to the top of the classification with those points. Behind the break, the two chasing groups joined forces and crossed the top of the climb 9' 30'' behind the break. Levi Leipheimer was the best placed rider in that group but he was too far back to be of any concern to Jelle Vanendert. The bunch was 3 minutes behind this group but the pace had increased considerably.
Stefano Garzelli and Denis Menchov attacked at the top of the Forcella Staulanza and reached the beginning of the Passo Giau, in Selva di Cadore, 40 seconds ahead of the bunch. Pierre Rolland took over the job of working at the front of the pack from Lotto, trying to defend Frank Schleck's place in the GC. With 25 kilometers still remaining and, even though the Passo Giau is a very demanding climb, it seems like the stage win is in the break. Especially given that the chasers group broke to pieces and Igor Anton and Franco Pellizotti left the rest of the group behind.
As usual in the mountains, Robert Gesink was the first among the top climbers to attack. He did it with a bit more than 5 kilometers to go of the Passo Giau. The Dutch soon opened a gap and was maintaining it at around 40 seconds as he reached to Franco Pellizotti. Only him and Igor Anton remained ahead of the group of the leader from the group of chasers, which says a lot about the increased pace in the group. With 21 kilometers to go the break had 5' 45'' on Igor Anton; 7' 40'' on Robert Gesink and Franco Pellizotti and 8' 20'' on Vanendert's group. Michele Scarponi was setting the pace in that group, while Bauke Mollema and Laurens Ten Dam were following in the front places.
The break finally broke into pieces in the last few kilometers of the Passo Giau and it was Jose Serpa who reached the top of the climb at the front. The Colombian had a small gap of 10 seconds over Rein Taaramae, while Julien Simon was 40 seconds behind. Meanwhile, Robert Gesink caught Igor Anton close to the top of the climb. The Dutch had built a gap of 1' 10'' over the group of the leader but Rob Ruijgh was trying to bridge the gap with the Ag2r rider. If they hold on to that lead in the descent they could come very close to Vanendert in the GC.
Robert Gesink's hopes of getting closer in the GC died in the descent of the Passo Giau. He is not very good downhill and suffered a lot, quickly being caught by the group of the leader, Jelle Venendert. However, it was Peter Stetina who attacked in the downhill and left the rest of the group behind. With 7 kilometers to go the American was the virtual leader of the race as he had 30 seconds on Vanendert after joining the second group of the break. At the front of the race, Julien Simon, Rein Taaramae and Jose Serpa had joined and they seemed to have the stage win for them to take. Among those who lost contact witht he group of the leader in the last kilometers of the Passo Giau and are still losing time are Bauke Mollema, Frank Schleck and Michele Scarponi.
Rein Taaramae took advantage of the small flat section in the middle of the descent of the Passo Giau and attacked from the break. The Estonian was slightly ahead with 2 kilometers to go, around 15 seconds on Julien Simon and Jose Serpa. The chasers are going to have to take risks if they don't want Taaramae to walk away with the win. Meanwhile, Peter Stetina was brought back to the leader's group and there was a bit of a stand by as the favorites were all together again. The group that is chasing them, where Bauke Mollema and Frank Schleck are might even join them if they continue lingering.
Rein Taaramae wins in Cortina d'Ampezzo! The Estonian was able to maintain the gap in the last flat kilometer and finished 12 seconds ahead of Jose Serpa and Julien Simon. This is the first win for Taaramae since he won a stage in the 2012 Tour de Romandie. The Katusha rider had had an unremarkable season so far but this win will surely compensate for all the unsuccessful breaks and the domestique work. Taaramae was not among the favorites to take the stage from the break, Jose Serpa and Joaquim Rodriguez were.
Jelle Vanendert was first in his group and took the 4th place in the stage ahead of Peter Stetina and Joaquim Rodriguez. The stage did not produce any differences among the top 5 of the GC but Bauke Mollema and Frank Schleck lost 40 seconds at the finish line. Jelle Vanendert was remarkably solid and he only used the smallest amount of energy that allowed him to be with the rest of the favorites at the finish line. It will be interesting to see if that strategy pays off in the other 2 high mountain stages to come.
The 18th is the only easy stage remaining in the Giro d'Italia. The route is a downward slope from the heart of the Dolomites towards the Po River valley with no difficulties along the way. This is the last chance for the sprinters to take a win home and their last opportunity to put distance with the GC riders in the points' competition. It will be interesting to see who among the sprinters has dealt with the mountains better.
The break was a bit bigger than the teams of the sprinters would have wanted. As many as 9 riders made it into the break, including Joost van Leijen (Vacansoleil), Bradley Wiggins (Katusha), Luis Leon Sanchez (Discovery), Paul Martens (HTC) and Tom Slagter (Ag2r). With 69 kilometers to go they had a gap of 5' 45'' over the main bunch, enough for them to think of a possible win. They are already out of the Dolomites. In the main bunch it is Astana and Tinkoff helping Lotto set the pace but for now they are taking things easy.
The intermediate sprint was placed only 23 kilometers from the finish line today. The break had a gap of 5 minutes at that point, which suggested that they might have a surprising chance to take the stage win in a very flat stage. Marcel Kittel was the quickest in the bunch sprint, even though only a few points were available, beating Tyler Farrar and Andre Greipel. It looks like the bunch in general wanted to have a day off in this difficult final week.
Bradley Wiggins and Luis Leon Sanchez attacked from the break and had a gap of 20 seconds on the rest of the break with 6 kilometers to go. They were already in the outskirts of Vedelago. However, the bunch had woken up and was only 40 seconds behind them. Trek and Astana started to chase like crazy in the last 30 kilometers and it will probably pay off. Having riders like Anthony Roux and Fabian Cancellara in their teams has helped a lot as they can set a very high chasing pace in the flat.
The break was not lucky and Bradley Wiggins and Luis Leon Sanchez were caught with 4 kilometers to go. It seems like a mass sprint will be the way to go and it will give Jose Joaquin Rojas or Andre Greipel a chance to distance the GC riders in the points' classification. The first sprint train formed was Astana's, where Robbie McEwen was going to work for Marcel Kittel. The German had Sacha Modolo right behind. Close behind was Trek's train with Daniele Bennati ready to lead Andre Greipel out. Tyler Farrar was behind Greipel and other sprinters were close to the front, like Chris Sutton, Ben Swift and Jose Joaquin Rojas.
Andre Greipel started the sprint from way too far out and he was effectively leading Tyler Farrar as they got close to the last kilometer of the stage. Sacha Modolo had switched trains and was behind the Tinkoff rider, ready to pick up the win if the other fail. Astana was still on the left hand side of the road with McEwen still ahead of Marcel Kittel. He might have a chance to take the stage win given the much better lead out that he has enjoyed.
Andre Greipel is still holding on to the lead with 600 meters remaining in today's stage. However, Tyler Farrar seems to be starting to come out from behind his wheel and the American can be very dangerous, as he proved in the stage finishing in Montecatini Terme. Sacha Modolo is right behind Farrar but has not quite found the speed that he had a couple of seasons ago. On the other side of the road Marcel Kittel had a good lead out but seems to be lacking the punch to threaten the leading men for the stage win.
Tyler Farrar wins in Vedelago! The American was way quicker than any other sprinter today and managed to easily take his second stage win in this Giro. Tinkoff might not have a GC rider in this Giro but their participation can be classified as a success as they managed to take 3 stage wins so far. Sacha Modolo tried to surprise from behind but could not match Farrar's speed and had to settle for the second place ahead of Marcel Kittel, Andre Greipel and Ben Swift.
The stage today was as expected from this kind of route in the last week of a Grand Tour. Most of the riders took a day off saving the energy that they will need to face the stages finishing in Alpe di Pampeago and the Passo dello Stelvio.
Although already 29 years old, Rui Costa is one of the emerging stars in the World of cycling. The Portuguese has found his home in the Tinkoff - Saxo team and is developing into one of the outsiders for lots of hills classics and stage races. However, life has not always been easy for Costa. He made his debut when he was 24 at the Radioshack team and changed teams every year until he settled from 2013 in the then called Saxo Bank - Tinkoff team. His only notable result in all these years was an 8th place in the Amstel Gold Race while riding with Ag2r - La Mondiale.
His arrival to Tinkoff - Saxo was a turning point in career. His countryman and friend Tiago Machado was already a member of the team and he recommended that Costa was given a chance with the team given that they had no one capable in the hills and Machado was focused in other types of races. Costa did not disappoint and as early as March he got a 6th place in the Tirreno - Adriatico. He went on to finish 2nd in the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec, close to the end of the season, only narrowly missing on the win to Joost van Leijen.
The good performances he got in 2013 were not enough to grant him a leading role in the team for the next year but he still kept a free role, which allowed him to improve on his results. Most remarkably, he got his only win so far in the 6th stage of the Criterium du Dauhpine. He also was 2nd in the Eneco Tour, a race that suits him very well with its combination of hills and time trialing, while last, but not least, he only narrowly missed on the medals in the Road World Championship. Costa finished the year as the best Saxo team rider in the World Tour standings.
2015 was finally the year when Rui Costa has been given the leading role on a World Tour team. Tom Boonen left the Russian team and that opened the spot for him. He has not disappointed so far, as he has taken top 10 finishes in the Paris - Nice, Vuelta al Pais Vasco and Tour de Romandie. However, he could not repeat his good performance in the Liege - Bastogne - Liege as he did last year. The Tour de Suisse will be his next target, a race that several of the top GC riders will miss, what should give Costa a chance to fight for the podium.
The final three stages will be the terrain where the riders will have to fight for the final win of the Giro d'Italia. The very hard finale starts with a stage between Treviso and Alpe di Pampeago, which will also include the climbs to the spectacular Passo Manghen, the Passo Pampeago and the Passo Lavaze before the very steep climb to Alpe di Pampeago. It is difficult to judge whether today's stage or tomorrow's is harder but this is clearly a day for the climbers and Jelle Vanendert will have to defend his pink jersey.
The break of the day was formed very early in the stage as Lotto did not want to waste too much energy controlling the race. They reached the intermediate sprint in Fonzaso (129 kilometers to go) with a gap of 4' 30'' on the bunch. Among the 11 riders in the break, the most important were David Millar (Vacansoleil), Johan Vansummeren (Quickstep), Joaquim Rodriguez (Discovery), Anthony Roux (Astana), Daniel Martin (Ag2r) and Domenico Pozzovivo (Lampre). Lotto was setting the pace in the bunch but they were not in a rush to make the race hard.
The first tough climb of the day was the impressive Passo Manghen, which has almost 1,700 of elevation change. The gap of the break increased to 8' 45'' as Lotto did not have much interest in making the race overly hard. Nevertheless, the climb was so hard that the peloton only had 100 riders when the riders reached the top. Obviously none of the favorites had any trouble in the climb as most of them are at the front of the bunch.
The descent of the Passo Manghen was long but there was not a long flat between the end and the beginning of the Passo Pampeago. The riders will have to tackle the climb twice today, as the finish line is in Alpe di Pampeago, 3 kilometers to the top of the climb. The break still had a gap of 7' 30'' but their gap was decreasing as Rigoberto Uran was working at the front of the pack. Jonathan Hivert and Anthony Roux were starting to suffer at the break. Lotto seemed to want to make the race harder today.
The serious attacks started in the second half of the climb to the Passo Pampeago. Mikel Nieve was the first to start. The Spaniard attacked when they were passing through the finish line for the first time. He was joined swiftly by Igor Anton. However, the most important rider to attack was Rob Ruijgh. The Dutch and Denis Menchov were losing 35 seconds to the two Spaniards at the top of the climb, while the group of Jelle Vanendert was almost 1' 30'' behind Nieve. The bunch was led by Juanjo Cobo, followed by Frank Schleck and Robert Gesink. The size of the group was decreasing really fast.
The pace of the bunch increased in the descent and the first part of the Passo Lavaze and the favorites that had attacked had already been reeled back in. In fact, the break was about to get caught. However, the increased pace did not mean that some riders were tired from attacking as Mikel Nieve, Igor Anton, Bauke Mollema and Michele Scarponi were on the attack again. The group of the leader only had 20 riders and some important riders, like Emanuele Sella and Pieter Weening, were already behind.
Rob Ruijgh attacked again in the Passo Lavaze and crossed the KoM sprint in the first position. The top of the climb was only 23 kilometers from the finish line. The Dutch practically won the Giro 2 years ago in this stage and he is trying to repeat the great attack that won him the race. This year he only had a gap of 35 seconds on the group of the leader, Jelle Vanendert. The Belgian has taken the responsibility to chase Ruijgh back but he is still bringing a rather big group with him. The group of Emanuele Sella, Pieter Weening and Rui Costa is already losing 2' 25''.
Rob Ruijgh was caught in the small flat before the climb to Alpe di Pampeago and the moment of relax that the favorites took meant that the group of the leader grew a little bit before the last climb. However, the attacks started straight away in the last climb. Robert Gesink took a while longer to attack today but he finally did it with 6 kilometers to go. Gesink dragged Jelle Vanendert, Frank Schleck and Bauke Mollema with him. The leader knew that today was an important day and wanted to have control over the race. Kanstantsin Siutsou was working to close the gap while Peter Stetina was showing his cold blood again.
The attack including Jelle Vanendert did not progress, given that Cannondale and BMC joined forces to chase them back. The forces among the riders in the group seemed similar and there were no further attacks until 3 kilometers to go, when Peter Stetina launched the hardest attack so far. The American wants to grab the pink jersey before the last time trial, even if he has an advantage over Jelle Vanendert in the last stage. Stetina soon opened a gap of 15 seconds over the group of the leader, containing 11 riders. Igor Anton had lost contact and was 1' 05'' behind, while a group with Davide Rebellin and Rui Costa was losing 1' 30''.
Peter Stetina entered the last kilometer with a gap of 30 seconds over Jelle Vanendert, who had attacked in chase of Stetina. The chasing group had completely broken and the closest chasers of the leader were Laurens Ten Dam, who was losing 50 seconds behind; Rob Ruijgh was losing 1 minute and Robert Gesink, Jurgen van den Broeck and Frank Schleck were losing 1' 15''. Jelle Vanendert has to do a very good last kilometer to save his pink jersey.
Peter Stetina wins in Alpe di Pampeago! The American takes his first stage win in this year's Giro, the second of the season and becomes the runaway favorite to take the final win in Milano two days from today. He had an advantage of 48 seconds over Jelle Vanendert at the finish line, what gives him a gap of 36 seconds in the GC. The third place in the stage and in the GC was for Laurens Ten Dam, who climbed to the podium place and now has 37 seconds over Rob Ruijgh in fourth.
The surprising performance of the day was Jurgen van den Broeck's. The Belgian was sixth, proving that he had a much better position in the GC in his legs if he was not working for Laurens Ten Dam. That also helped Cannondale take the first place in the teams standings. The mountains are not finished yet in the Giro as the penultimate stage has the Mortirolo and the Stelvio.
