Latest news with #GCContenders
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Giro d'Italia Stage 20 preview: Penultimate-day Alpine showdown set to decide maglia rosa
After a thrilling and often surprising three weeks, the Giro d'Italia all comes down to this: 205km of Alpine terrain to settle the destiny of the maglia rosa. The accumulated fatigue of three weeks' racing and several difficult Alpine days could yet see the GC favourites crumble, and this Giro has proved there's always a surprise, a twist and turn in store. The last of five tough outings in the mountains in this final week, stage 20 encompasses 4,500m of altitude gain, the majority of it on the showpiece climb of the Colle delle Finestre. Advertisement Unlike stage 19's constant climbing and descending, stage 20 begins with a lumpy first 100km with the serious climbing much closer to the finish line. Mads Pedersen's points jersey is mathematically secure but we could still see the Dane jump into the early breakaway to mop up points at the day's first intermediate sprints, at Rocca Canavese, which comes just before the first categorised climb, 69km in at Corio. It's only a cat-four but from there the road pitches uphill again steadily until the start of the category two Colle del Lys: 13.7km, it's a long one averaging 4.3% but hitting 12% at its toughest points. There's time to recover on the descent and long valley that follows, but looming large is the Finestre: 2,178m high, nearly 19km at an average of 9.2%, an hour-long effort on one of the most difficult climbs in the Alps. This will either make or break each of the GC contenders: it's where Simon Yates cracked in 2018 and where Chris Froome attacked to win his final (as of now) Grand Tour, so the Visma-Lease a Bike rider will have less than fond memories of its hideous slopes. It's a classic hairpin-heavy climb, which will only add to the difficulty and energy required to keep position. The Red Bull kilometre with its bonus seconds is around four kilometres from the top, at Bergerie le Casette, and could be crucial for the final standings. Once over the top there's only 28km left to race, including a cat-three ascent to Sestriere, a summit finish to decide the GC before tomorrow's sprint stage. Route map and profile Giro d'Italia – stage 20 map ( Giro d'Italia – stage 20 profile ( Start time Set your alarms for an early start: stage 20 kicks off at 10.45am local time (9.45am BST) and is set to conclude at 4.15pm local time (3.15pm BST). Prediction It all comes down to this. Who of the GC favourites will rise to the occasion, and who will crumble? Richard Carapaz's attacking flair has livened up the final week and the Ecuadorian looks in his best form since he won this race in 2019, so he could be in line for another stage win and to perhaps nab the maglia rosa in the process. Advertisement Derek Gee has also been biding his time and steadily working his way up the standings, while Giulio Pellizzari has climbed incredibly and could add to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's unexpectedly positive final week with a late stage win to add to Nico Denz's on stage 18. But for pure theatre, nothing could beat Simon Yates redeeming himself on the Finestre this year. It would provide a fitting end to what has been an excellent Giro for the Visma-Lease a Bike rider, who had looked superb on nearly all the mountain stages so far until wobbling yesterday. Could he yet pinch another Grand Tour crown?
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Giro d'Italia Stage 20 preview: Penultimate-day Alpine showdown set to decide maglia rosa
After a thrilling and often surprising three weeks, the Giro d'Italia all comes down to this: 205km of Alpine terrain to settle the destiny of the maglia rosa. The accumulated fatigue of three weeks' racing and several difficult Alpine days could yet see the GC favourites crumble, and this Giro has proved there's always a surprise, a twist and turn in store. The last of five tough outings in the mountains in this final week, stage 20 encompasses 4,500m of altitude gain, the majority of it on the showpiece climb of the Colle delle Finestre. Unlike stage 19's constant climbing and descending, stage 20 begins with a lumpy first 100km with the serious climbing much closer to the finish line. Mads Pedersen's points jersey is mathematically secure but we could still see the Dane jump into the early breakaway to mop up points at the day's first intermediate sprints, at Rocca Canavese, which comes just before the first categorised climb, 69km in at Corio. It's only a cat-four but from there the road pitches uphill again steadily until the start of the category two Colle del Lys: 13.7km, it's a long one averaging 4.3% but hitting 12% at its toughest points. There's time to recover on the descent and long valley that follows, but looming large is the Finestre: 2,178m high, nearly 19km at an average of 9.2%, an hour-long effort on one of the most difficult climbs in the Alps. This will either make or break each of the GC contenders: it's where Simon Yates cracked in 2018 and where Chris Froome attacked to win his final (as of now) Grand Tour, so the Visma-Lease a Bike rider will have less than fond memories of its hideous slopes. It's a classic hairpin-heavy climb, which will only add to the difficulty and energy required to keep position. The Red Bull kilometre with its bonus seconds is around four kilometres from the top, at Bergerie le Casette, and could be crucial for the final standings. Once over the top there's only 28km left to race, including a cat-three ascent to Sestriere, a summit finish to decide the GC before tomorrow's sprint stage. Set your alarms for an early start: stage 20 kicks off at 10.45am local time (9.45am BST) and is set to conclude at 4.15pm local time (3.15pm BST). It all comes down to this. Who of the GC favourites will rise to the occasion, and who will crumble? Richard Carapaz's attacking flair has livened up the final week and the Ecuadorian looks in his best form since he won this race in 2019, so he could be in line for another stage win and to perhaps nab the maglia rosa in the process. Derek Gee has also been biding his time and steadily working his way up the standings, while Giulio Pellizzari has climbed incredibly and could add to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's unexpectedly positive final week with a late stage win to add to Nico Denz's on stage 18. But for pure theatre, nothing could beat Simon Yates redeeming himself on the Finestre this year. It would provide a fitting end to what has been an excellent Giro for the Visma-Lease a Bike rider, who had looked superb on nearly all the mountain stages so far until wobbling yesterday. Could he yet pinch another Grand Tour crown?
The Independent
3 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Giro d'Italia Stage 20 preview: Penultimate-day Alpine showdown set to decide maglia rosa
After a thrilling and often surprising three weeks, the Giro d'Italia all comes down to this: 205km of Alpine terrain to settle the destiny of the maglia rosa. The accumulated fatigue of three weeks' racing and several difficult Alpine days could yet see the GC favourites crumble, and this Giro has proved there's always a surprise, a twist and turn in store. The last of five tough outings in the mountains in this final week, stage 20 encompasses 4,500m of altitude gain, the majority of it on the showpiece climb of the Colle delle Finestre. Unlike stage 19's constant climbing and descending, stage 20 begins with a lumpy first 100km with the serious climbing much closer to the finish line. Mads Pedersen 's points jersey is mathematically secure but we could still see the Dane jump into the early breakaway to mop up points at the day's first intermediate sprints, at Rocca Canavese, which comes just before the first categorised climb, 69km in at Corio. It's only a cat-four but from there the road pitches uphill again steadily until the start of the category two Colle del Lys: 13.7km, it's a long one averaging 4.3% but hitting 12% at its toughest points. There's time to recover on the descent and long valley that follows, but looming large is the Finestre: 2,178m high, nearly 19km at an average of 9.2%, an hour-long effort on one of the most difficult climbs in the Alps. This will either make or break each of the GC contenders: it's where Simon Yates cracked in 2018 and where Chris Froome attacked to win his final (as of now) Grand Tour, so the Visma-Lease a Bike rider will have less than fond memories of its hideous slopes. It's a classic hairpin-heavy climb, which will only add to the difficulty and energy required to keep position. The Red Bull kilometre with its bonus seconds is around four kilometres from the top, at Bergerie le Casette, and could be crucial for the final standings. Once over the top there's only 28km left to race, including a cat-three ascent to Sestriere, a summit finish to decide the GC before tomorrow's sprint stage. Route map and profile Start time Set your alarms for an early start: stage 20 kicks off at 10.45am local time (9.45am BST) and is set to conclude at 4.15pm local time (3.15pm BST). Prediction It all comes down to this. Who of the GC favourites will rise to the occasion, and who will crumble? Richard Carapaz 's attacking flair has livened up the final week and the Ecuadorian looks in his best form since he won this race in 2019, so he could be in line for another stage win and to perhaps nab the maglia rosa in the process. Derek Gee has also been biding his time and steadily working his way up the standings, while Giulio Pellizzari has climbed incredibly and could add to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's unexpectedly positive final week with a late stage win to add to Nico Denz's on stage 18. But for pure theatre, nothing could beat Simon Yates redeeming himself on the Finestre this year. It would provide a fitting end to what has been an excellent Giro for the Visma-Lease a Bike rider, who had looked superb on nearly all the mountain stages so far until wobbling yesterday. Could he yet pinch another Grand Tour crown?
The Independent
4 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Giro d'Italia Stage 19 preview: First of mountainous weekend double-header to decide GC
The 2025 Giro d'Italia comes to a head this weekend with a mountainous double-header of late Alpine stages that could yet see a massive shakeup of the general classification. The first is today's 166km run from Biella to Champoluc, with 4,950m of altitude gain – the most of this year's race – condensed into a relatively short stage, and the classic shark's-tooth profile indicating that the pressure is on the GC contenders all day. After a brief 4km descent out of Biella the profile is more or less up and down all day, with five categorised climbs, the first a category-three at Croce Serra 15km in, three cat-ones, and a cat-two to finish things off. From Croce Serra there's a short false flat leading to Verres, which kicks off those three cat-one climbs, each over 15km and leading straight into each other by long descents. The 16km Col Tzecore - making only its second appearance in the Giro – hits 15 per cent on its steepest slopes and averages 12 per cent for the final 4km. Its descent winds down and through the intermediate sprint at Chatillon before kicking back uphill to the Col de Saint-Pantaleon, which averages 7.2 per cent, and the Col de Joux, at average gradients of 6.9 per cent. The Col de Joux is followed by a short descent to Brusson heading straight into the 9.5km final climb to Antagnod, which hits 11 per cent, and ends 5km from the finish line. It's not a summit finish, with the terrain falling sharply from 3km to go, and a series of switchbacks taking the riders under the flamme rouge into Champoluc. The final kilometre is cobbled up until 400m to go, when it drags up to the line for one last climb. Route map and profile Start time Stage 19 will start at 12.20pm local time (11.20am BST) and finish at around 5.30pm local time (4.30pm BST). Prediction If a breakaway manages to hold off the GC charge, it's almost last chance saloon for Romain Bardet, who has two more opportunities to win a Giro stage and complete the Grand Tour set. But this feels too crucial a GC stage for that to be allowed to happen, sadly for fans of ciclismo and the Frenchman. Of the GC favourites, Simon Yates and Richard Carapaz have it all to do this weekend to make up time on the pink jersey and have both climbed brilliantly so far, Yates showing brief signs of weakness on stage 17 but the Ecuadorian was near-flawless in the opening two and a half weeks. But the short final descent and kick back up to the line suit Isaac del Toro, who escaped from Carapaz and Romain Bardet on the final downhill to win stage 17, and seems to think the best form of defence of his pink jersey is attack. The high mountains on stage 16 clearly didn't suit him, but he has looked brighter since then and has won on this sort of terrain and altitude before, at the Col de la Loze in the Tour de l'Avenir, so it's not a given that he'll suffer again today.
The Independent
20-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Giro d'Italia Stage 10 preview: Second time trial sets stage for GC shakeup
As the dust settled (quite literally) on Sunday's monumental gravel stage in Tuscany, Primoz Roglic was his usual even-tempered self. There's still a long way to go until the finish in Rome, he reminded reporters - and the race favourite, now down to 10th on GC after a disastrous day on the sterrato, can kick-start his fight back to the top with today's time trial. After a day off on Monday to recover and lick their wounds, where applicable, the riders resume the battle for the maglia rosa on Tuesday with the second of two TTs. This one is 28.6km from Lucca to Pisa and although it's twice as long as stage two's contre-la-montre in Albania, the course profile is broadly similar, with a slight rise in the middle of the route before flattening off for a fast run-in to Pisa, and the exact same elevation gain of 150m. The riders will circle the city walls in Lucca before taking a few turns until the first time check, where the course straightens out for the uphill section. From there it follows fast, sweeping roads towards Pisa, with a finish by - where else - the Leaning Tower. There's a potential spanner in the works in the form of a late cobbled section with 500m to go, which continues until the final corner. The Albanian time trial featured a category four climb, whereas this rise is uncategorised, and as such it should be one for the specialists, with the better time-trialists of the GC contenders looking to make up time. Some riders went down hard in a crash on Sunday's gravel stage, Roglic among them, with Juan Ayuso - his biggest rival for the overall title - reportedly needing stitches in his knee after a crash of his own. But the Spaniard has an advantage of over a minute on the 2023 champion, who has serious ground to make up. He'll hope for a replica result of the Albanian TT, when he finished second and put some time into Ayuso, while the climbers Richard Carapaz, Egan Bernal and Giulio Ciccone - all above Roglic in the GC at the moment - were even further back. The weather could also play a part, with rain and thunderstorms forecast for the afternoon and the roads - particularly that final cobbled section - treacherous. Route map and profile Start time Stage 10 is set to start at around 1.15pm local time (12.15 BST), with the first rider setting off then, and the last set to come in at 5.15pm local time (4.15 BST). Prediction As the course is so similar to the previous time trial, it seems reasonable to expect plenty of the same standout names to perform again today. European TT champion Edoardo Affini produced a strong ride for fourth, while Mathias Vacek has been the relevation of this Giro so far - although he had a long day in the saddle on stage nine. Roglic needs to claw back every second he can get and Ayuso is a fine time-triallist, but both could be rather worse for wear after their crashes. Let's go with Josh Tarling: the Ineos man is flying and looks well-placed to secure the TT double.
