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After a Stage 18 that was supposed to culminate in a bunch sprint was won from the break, what can we expect of Stage 19? Dries De Bondt (Alpecin-Fenix) led home a four-man break to defy the peloton as the Belgian took a first Grand Tour stage win on Thursday. He came in ahead of Edoardo Affini (Jumbo-Visma), Magnus Cort (EF Education-EasyPost) and Davide Gabburo (Bardiani-CSF).
Mark Cavendish may have been left disappointed after the peloton failed to reel in the escapees on Stage 18 of the Giro d’Italia, but the «massive mistake» that allowed a four-man break to stay away was one of the factors that led to a hugely exciting stage, said Dan Lloyd on the post-race Breakaway. Dries De Bondt (Alpecin-Fenix) led home a four-man break to defy the peloton as the Belgian took a first Grand Tour stage win. He came in ahead of Edoardo Affini (Jumbo-Visma), Magnus Cort (EF Education-EasyPost) and Davide Gabburo (Bardiani-CSF).
As Mark Cavendish (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team) slogged through the mountains, two words will have been echoing around his head: ‘Stage 18, Stage 18, Stage 18’. Two brutal days of climbing at the Giro d’Italia mean everyone will be hoping for a largely chilled run from Borgo Valsugana to Treviso, leaving the fast men free to squabble over the final bunch sprint… assuming the breakaway does not rip up the plan.
Stage 17 is a lumpy and unpredictable 168km ride that features three categorised climbs and another short downhill run towards the ramped finish in Lavarone. When the peloton slump to the floor at Wednesday’s finish, they will have conquered more vertical gain than the height of Everest in just 48 hours. Ad/> With 8km immediately uphill as the race leaves Ponte Di Legno, expect attacks from the off before a long descent of differing gradients for a smidge over 70km.
The GC hopefuls will be nervously clicking refresh on the weather forecast amid suggestions there could be thunderstorms and heavy rain in northern Italy for Tuesday’s five-star trip to the mountains. After the final rest day of the week, and a subdued outing on Sunday, the foundations are laid for an explosive Stage 16. Ad/> The imposing Mortirolo is sandwiched between two other Cat.
Eurosport expert Dan Lloyd admits there was «no point» for any of the favourites to attack on Stage 15 at the Giro d’Italia as the final climb was not hard enough. Sunday was predicted to be another big day in the fight for the maglia rosa after the Bora-hansgrohe detonation on Saturday that saw Simon Yates (BikeExchange-Jayco) win, Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) take pink and Bora’s Jai Hindley move seven seconds off the lead. Ad/> It was anything but.
Richard Carapaz may have seized the maglia rosa on Stage 14 at the Giro d’Italia but Ineos Grenadiers will be “asking questions of themselves” after he was isolated, according to Dan Lloyd on The Breakaway, while Bradley Wiggins suggested the Ecuadorian rode with an “element of fear”. Ineos are renowned for protecting their GC leader at Grand Tours with their fabled train making it near-impossible for any rivals to attack off the front. Ad/> So it was a surprise when an early move from Bora-hansgrohe shredded the peloton, including the majority of the Ineos team, with only Pavel Sivakov able to offer any semblance of support to Carapaz.
Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) caused a stir on Stage 14 at the Giro d’Italia after appearing to flout the rules during a bike change. The Spaniard was 10th in the general classification ahead of Saturday’s run from Santena to Torino, but soon found himself among the chasers after the peloton was ripped to shreds by Bora-hansgrohe. Ad/> Amid the fight to claw back time, Valverde was spotted peeling off from his group and immediately hopping on a bike that was waiting for him from a team car parked on the side of the road.