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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.
The Independent
09-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Giro d'Italia LIVE: Stage one set for fierce fight to claim maglia rosa as race begins in Albania
The opening stage, a 160km run from the port town of Durres to the Albanian capital Tirana, is unlikely to be a battleground for the title contenders, however. The sprinters may be eyeing up the finish but it's the likes of all-rounders Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock who are the favourites to get over the punchy hills and have enough left in the legs to fight for the maglia rosa at the end of the day.
Irish Times
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
‘I have to go out and get a few stages': Sam Bennett reinvents the wheel for Giro d'Italia
Time to turn back the clock. It is now five years since Sam Bennett captured the green jersey at the Tour de France , and three since his last grand tour stage wins. The Irish sprinter lines out in the Giro d'Italia on Friday determined to get back to the top, and is relying on a rejigged training programme to rediscover his best form. 'I changed the training quite a bit the last month or two,' he told reporters this week. 'In the last three, four years I've been training my sprint more to get speed, because we thought that I was missing that. But when we did more digging, we saw that it was [actually] torque that was missing. So we had to build more torque and power into the speed.' Now 34 years of age, Bennett is in the final year of his current contract with the French Decathlon Ag2r La Mondiale team. His desire to secure a new deal is a motivation for him, but so too his wish to get back to the top. READ MORE Bennett has had a frustrating few years since the highs of the 2020 Tour de France. He appeared to have the sprinting world at his feet then and for several months afterwards, collecting two stages plus the green jersey in that Tour, as well as multiple other successes. Things started going awry with a knee injury in early June 2021. Sidelined from racing for several months, he worked his way back up to taking the opening two stages in the 2021 Vuelta a España. However a dose of Covid took him out of that race. He has not been back to the same level since. 'It's been a while,' he admitted this week, speaking of stage wins in grand tours. 'So to get winning again would be something that would be quite nice. It would also back up the changes we've made the last couple of months, to show that we are going in the right direction. It would just show that I'm still here.' Sam Bennett (Ireland) celebrates winning the green jersey. Photograph: Faugere Franck/Inpho So what changes has he made? The Carrick-on-Suir rider said the emphasis has moved away from a lot of endurance work and towards doing some shorter, more intense training rides. Building power is a higher priority now, something he feels he was lacking earlier this year when he finished second on a stage of Tirreno Adriatico. He was head-to-head with the young sprinter Jonathan Milan there, with the Italian just holding him off to the line. 'I was just missing a bit of torque, a bit of pulling power into the headwind and the gear I chose,' Bennett told The Irish Times. 'It gave me confidence. Milan's top dog at the minute, and I was testing him right up to the line.' And now to the Giro. Friday's opening stage of the race includes one second category climb halfway through the stage to Tirana in Albania, and then two third category ascents closer to the line. It is unclear if Bennett and the other sprinters will be able to stick with the general classification riders and the punchy all-rounders but, if not, next Tuesday's fourth stage to Lecce is much flatter. It is much more likely to result in a big gallop. Other opportunities will follow, giving him opportunity to turn things fully around and to prove that he still has what it takes. 'I still have that hunger,' he insisted. 'I still want it as bad. I still get that pain in my gut every time I lose a race, so I know the want is still there. 'I just have to try and go out and get a few stages.'
