Velonews: Five Key Giro D’italia Stages



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SAN LORENZO AL MARE, Italy (AFP) — The 98th edition of the Giro d’Italia starts with a 17.6km team time trial from San Lorenzo al Mare to Sanremo on Saturday. Here are five key stages in the three-week race.
Stage 7: Grosseto-Fiuggi, 264km, Friday, May 15
This is the longest stage of the race and covers a distance more akin to a one-day classic. It’s expected to end in a bunch sprint as it’s relatively flat. But the pitfalls are numerous, not least because of the distance. The parcours is lumpy, while the first part of the race follows the Adriatic coast. High winds could cause splits in the peloton, and if that happens, being caught the wrong side could be fatal to a rider’s overall hopes.
Stage 14: Treviso-Valdobbiadene, 59.4km (individual time trial), Saturday, May 23
This is the only individual time trial in the race, but its sheer length means the gaps will likely run into the minutes rather than seconds. It’s not technical, the climbs are far from challenging, and therefore it’s going to be simply a tour de force. Specialist climbers risk losing considerable time here.
Stage 16: Pinzolo-Aprica, 175km, Tuesday, May 26
Five climbs including the category 1 Passo del Mortirolo make this potentially the key stage of the entire race. Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) has already said he believes this is where the race will be won and lost, and it is certainly not the place to discover your legs aren’t feeling great.
Stage 19: Gravellona Toce-Cervinia, 237km, Friday, May 29
This is made for a long breakaway as the first 150km are relatively flat. But three category 1 climbs in the last 85km on an already long stage will seriously test the riders’ stamina. There will also be a temptation not to push too hard given the next day’s summit finish. But those feeling strong, who do go for it, could make significant gains
Stage 20: Saint-Vincent-Sestriere, 196km, Saturday, May 30
The penultimate stage will be the last chance to shake things up, and it’s a testing mountain stage that will crest the highest point of the race, the Colle delle Finestre. All the climbing happens in the last 45km of another long stage. The length and difficulty of the Cole delle Finestre suggests that it will be the most likely place for the attacks to happen, but if they don’t stick, there will still be the category 3 climb to Sestriere left to launch one final bid for glory.
The post Five key Giro d’Italia stages appeared first on VeloNews.com.


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