Giro d'Italia 2022 Stage 18 - Last dance for Mark Cavendish? Or more joy for Arnaud Demare?

Mark Cavendish's last dance Ad/> 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’. Giro d'ItaliaGiro d'Italia Stage 18 — Route map, how to watch Cav’s last dance10 HOURS AGO 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.

Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) is the in-form rider with three wins already, while Cavendish is chasing his first win since the race arrived in Italy, having won Stage 3 in Hungary during the Grande Partenza. But with so many hard metres now in the legs, who will be freshest on the gentle run into Treviso on Thursday? And could any weakness from the sprint teams be pounced on by a break? Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) staved off the threat of Jai Hindley (Bora-hansgrohe) in the maglia rosa battle on Stage 17, with the gap still at three seconds and the race increasingly likely to be decided on the final-day time trial.

The Ecuadorian should enjoy a day off from following attacks, although we can expect his Ineos team-mates to be stationed at the front… just in case. STAGE 17 RECAP: Buitrago wins Stage 17 after crash; Van der Poel shines, Carapaz keeps pink Tears of sadness on Sunday turned to tears of joy on Wednesday as Santiago Buitrago picked up a maiden Grand Tour stage win with a fantastic solo effort in Lavarone.