Latest news with #MadsPedersen
Yahoo
12 hours 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
12 hours 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
13 hours 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?
Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- Times
Mads Pedersen in pink despite crash on Giro d'Italia stage six
Kaden Groves sprinted to victory in a rain and crash-affected stage six of the Giro d'Italia in which the race leader, Mads Pedersen, crashed on the slippery roads. The Australian, of Alpecin-Deceuninck, unleashed an almighty sprint in Naples after twisting and turning through the cobbled streets to take his first win of the season ahead of Milan Fretin (Cofidis) and Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step). But even if we expected this 227km stage to be one for the sprinters, the Giro showed once again why it is perhaps the most unpredictable grand tour of the year due to its position in May often throwing up issues outside of the riders' or race director's control — think of Geraint Thomas in pink, riding through Verbier in the torrential rain in 2023. And so it was on stage six when a mass crash caused havoc, forcing some riders to abandon the race, and later a protester ran out in front of the peloton within the final 3km. The crash came with 71km to go on the way from Potenza to Naples as the rain came down and the roads became shiny and the white lines on the tarmac became slippery. As the breakaway's gap was falling to about 45 seconds, Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) apparently slipped while braking in the centre of the peloton and hit the ground hard. Numerous riders came down behind him, including Pedersen and fellow general classifcation (GC) contender Richard Carapaz. Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) also took a tumble among the masses of riders on the floor, but while most were able to get up and carry on, Hindley sat by the roadside, dazed (perhaps concussed) and making no efforts to stand. Soon after Australian Hindley, the 2022 Giro d'Italia winner, was taken away by the medical team and had to abandon the race. It was a horrible loss for the Giro and as well as a disappointment for the Red Bull rider, it was a blow for Primoz Roglic, the favourite to win the Pink Jersey, who has lost his key lieutenant for the mountains to come. The race was neutralised at this point and rolled on at 20km/h until it was halted completely. And so an argument we're used to having at the Giro d'Italia continued: are wet and slippery roads part and parcel of professional cycling, or are they a risk too far with the speeds of the modern day? The GC teams would have been quite happy to neutralise the entire race but Mauro Vegni, the race director, faces other pressures, including a contract with Naples to bring the race there. The rain wasn't too hard, but the roads were treacherous. If there was enough danger to cause a crash on an innocuous flat, straight road, a sprint finish may well have been deemed too much. A compromise was reached however. The race started again with 58km to go. There was a stage win up for grabs but that was it. All riders would receive the same time as the winner, meaning all GC riders were safe. There would be no points on offer for the points-classification Ciclamino Jersey and there would be no bonus seconds awarded on the finish line. Otherwise the race was back on and the breakaway was given its original gap back. Meanwhile Pedersen, who appeared to be rubbing his right thigh in the peloton after the crash, sat up and dropped behind the leading group. It was clear he wasn't going to complete the sprint finish and wanted to take advantage of the GC neutralisation to avoid any danger. So for the other teams there was a chance for a victory. Cue Visma–Lease a Bike heading to the front of the group chasing down the two-man breakaway of Taco van der Hoorn and Enzo Paleni in service of their sprinter Olav Kooij. With 10km to go, the valiant breakaway, which had got away with 195km to go, still had 24 seconds on the reduced sprinters' peloton. For a moment, as they entered the twisting roads of Naples, it looked as if the breakaway may make it to the finish. But a protester ran out onto the road with 3km to go, disrupting their efforts, and soon the peloton behind had swallowed the breakaway up. The sprint was as messy as the stage itself. Jensen Plowright, Groves's team-mate, went off the front, leaving behind his team in the last kilometre and forcing Wout van Aert to chase him down, only for the Belgian's team-mate, Kooij, to lose his wheel also. Van Aert appeared to make a half-hearted attempt for the line himself but ultimately ran out of steam. Kooij was then in a bad position up against the advertising boards with Matteo Moschetti (who was later relegated from eighth to 176th for his dangerous sprint) and had nowhere to go so was forced to sit up. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. Meanwhile Groves had clear air to lay down the power we've been waiting to see since he returned from injury this year. 'Its a big relief,' Groves said after the race. 'The team always believes in me and its not been a great start to the season with the injury, I missed a lot of racing and I was arriving here without a win — so getting the first one of the year is a big relief. 'We needed to use some guys early to close the breakaway and they did a super ride, and in the end I still had two team-mates, Plowright and [Edward] Planckaert, who did a super job.' For Pedersen — who rolled in ten minutes behind — holding on to the Pink Jersey was something of a poisoned chalice. He had to complete the usual leader's press conference as well as attend a special reception with politicians and military representatives before one of the longest transfers of this year's Giro d'Italia, a two hour drive between Naples and Castel di Sangro. There, the race will enter the mountains on the route to Tagliacozzo, where Pedersen is expected to relinquish the jersey as the GC competition truly kicks off.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Roglic loses time as Verona wins Giro stage 15
Spaniard Carlos Verona won stage 15 of the Giro d'Italia with a long-range solo attack on Sunday as former champion Primoz Roglic lost significant time on the rest of his general classification rivals. Slovenian Roglic, one of the pre-race favourites, shipped a minute and a half to the rest of the contenders for the leader's pink jersey after being dropped on the final climb with over 20km to go. The 35-year-old Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe rider tumbled from fifth to 10th in the overall standings and is now three minutes 53 seconds behind race leader Isaac del Toro. Lidl-Trek rider Verona, 32, held off a chasing pack formed by some of his breakaway companions to secure his first Grand Tour stage win, and only his second pro victory. "I certainly didn't come to the Giro thinking that I could win a stage and I was happy with that," said Verona, who finished 22 seconds ahead of Florian Stork with Christian Scaroni in third. "I was here in full support for [points leader] Mads Pedersen and Giulio Ciccone [who did not start on Sunday after crashing on stage 14]. "Everything changed yesterday when we lost Cicco. Today is my day. I didn't want to do it for me but I wanted to do it for the team, knowing how much Giulio had worked for this race." Britain's Simon Yates of Team Visma-Lease a Bike remains second in the overall standings behind Mexican Del Toro, with the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider taking a lead of one minute and 20 seconds into the final week. Meanwhile, Swiss Marlen Reusser won the final time trial stage at the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas to wrap up overall victory in the Women's World Tour event. It secured back-to-back stage wins for the Movistar rider, who won the general classification by almost two minutes. Italy's Elisa Longo Borghini finished second in the general classification with Dutch rider Yara Kastelijn third. C Verona (Spa/Lidl-Trek) 5hrs 15mins 41secs F Stork (Ger/Tudor Pro Cycling) +22secs C Scaroni (Ita/Xds Astana) +23secs R Bardet (Fra/Picnic Postnl) Same time N Prodhomme (Fra/Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) F Zana (Ita/Jayco Alula) G Garofoli (Ita/Soudal Quick-Step) +26secs F Fiorelli (Ita/VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizane) +29secs D Caruso (Ita/Bahrain Victorious) Same time Max Poole (GB/Team PicnicPostNL) I del Toro (Mex/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 55hrs 54mins 05secs S Yates (GB/Visma-Lease a Bike) +1min 20secs J Ayuso (Spa/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +1min 26secs R Carapaz (Ecu/EF Education-EasyPost) +2mins 7secs D Gee (Can/Israel-Premier Tech) +2mins 54secs D Caruso (Ita/Bahrain Victorious) +2mins 55secs A Tiberi (Ita/Bahrain Victorious) +3mins 2secs E Bernal (Col/Ineos Grenadiers) +3mins 38secs T Arensman (Ned/Ineos Grenadiers) +3mins 45secs P Roglic (Slo/Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) +3mins 53secs
