2014 Giro d'Italia, Stage 15: Valdengo-Plan Di Montecampione (225 km)

[Afrank]

Via Eshnar's analysis.

Technical overview:
Long, MTF-only stage, but it's quite a MTF! Plan di Montecampione is over 19 km long and has an average gradient of 7.6%, including 3 km of false flat two thirds up the climb, which lower the average gradient significantly. Strangely enough they won't finish at the top but 1 km short, for no official reasons (unless I missed something).

What to expect:
GC action after the false flat part of the climb, surely. If these were the 90s it would be different, but that's what we get today.

Pantani Tribute:
Giro 1998 stage 19
Granted, we won't see anything like that this year.

 

[Afrank]

Nairito and Dr. Pozzovivo to take more time out of the others. Arredondo FTW.

 

[kingjr]

Via Eshnar's analysis.

[
Pantani Tribute:
Giro 1998 stage 19
Granted, we won't see anything like that this year.

Makes one wish EPO would be legalized, without HCT-limits, doesn't it?

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

Makes one wish EPO would be legalized, without HCT-limits, doesn't it?

welcome to the club

 

[More Strides than Rides]

I know when the stage starts, but what should I tune in to watch the race begin?

 

[Parrulo]

Makes one wish EPO would be legalized, without HCT-limits, doesn't it?

That has already been discussed to dead. Doping IS NOT the reason why the racing is more conservative this days.

Dumber parcours, stronger overall teams and idiotic point systems that reward stupid top 10 placings is what is wrong with cycling.

Just look at today's stage and how Cannondale chased Rolland and Hesjedal for like 20/30k because they were defending basso's top 10 placing, which is pathetic coming from a guy that has won the race before and even worse considering he couldn't follow the favourites as soon as the pace got tough.

 

[richo36]

This should be an interesting stage after today, not that I expect big time gaps or long range attacks. It will either confirm what we have seen today or that uran was actually having a bad day.

I don't think there will be any attacks until after the false flat (from the top 6). at which point either pozzovivio or nairo will attack with the other to follow. I think uran will let it go and just ride tempo. Evans will stick to urans wheel and hope to gain those 3-7seconds on the finish line. im not sure how majka will race but kelderman will attempt to go with nairo/pozzivivio and get dropped but hold on to come in with evans or uran. all up I see at most 10-20secs. real gains to come later in the week assuming uran is done.

 

[Netserk]

The two flying midgets to attack 10km from the top, if not sooner.

 

[Arredondo]

This should be an interesting stage after today, not that I expect big time gaps or long range attacks. It will either confirm what we have seen today or that uran was actually having a bad day.

I don't think there will be any attacks until after the false flat (from the top 6). at which point either pozzovivio or nairo will attack with the other to follow. I think uran will let it go and just ride tempo. Evans will stick to urans wheel and hope to gain those 3-7seconds on the finish line. im not sure how majka will race but kelderman will attempt to go with nairo/pozzivivio and get dropped but hold on to come in with evans or uran. all up I see at most 10-20secs. real gains to come later in the week assuming uran is done.

You're sure you are not watching the replay of today's stage?

 

[kingjr]

That has already been discussed to dead. Doping IS NOT the reason why the racing is more conservative this days.

I disagree with that. And even if you were right, it would definitely look more impressive.

 

[Jspear]

Nairito and Dr. Pozzovivo to take more time out of the others. Arredondo FTW.

I 2nd your winner. I'll just say that Nairo will put more time into his rivals than he did today. Pozzovivo will be the next big gc guy to come in.

 

[phanatic]

This is a nicely designed stage. The long final climb begins at 40k beyond Saturday's stage, and the last 6k of the climb begins at about the same altitude as Oropa's finish line. With a rest day following, we might get to see some significant time gaps.

 

[Mellow Velo]

With 200kms of flat before the climb, will anybody be bothered to chase the right break?
Oh and Pierre Rolland will need a new tactic, although chapeau for not waiting on the final climb, these past two Saturdays.

 

[Fight.The.Power]

Dont think Pozzo or Quintana will make up 2 or 3 minutes but after today's performance by Uran maybe we see Evans back in Pink?

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

So aside from Pozzovivo, all the oldies got beaten by the young ones (Quintana, Aru, Majka, Kelderman) in the first serious test...

Will the oldies comeback? Or will that be saved until the 3rd week

 

[Dazed and Confused]

With 200kms of flat before the climb, will anybody be bothered to chase the right break?
Oh and Pierre Rolland will need a new tactic, although chapeau for not waiting on the final climb, these past two Saturdays.

Rolland moved inside top 10:
1 URAN URAN Rigoberto COL OPQ 57:52:51 0:00
2 EVANS Cadel AUS BMC 57:53:23 0:32
3 MAJKA Rafal POL TCS 57:54:26 1:35
4 POZZOVIVO Domenico ITA ALM 57:55:02 2:11
5 KELDERMAN Wilco NED BEL 57:55:24 2:33
6 QUINTANA Nairo COL MOV 57:55:55 3:04
7 ARU Fabio ITA AST 57:56:07 3:16
8 POELS Wouter NED OPQ 57:56:52 4:01
9 ROLLAND Pierre FRA EUC 57:57:58 5:07
10 KISERLOVSKI Robert CRO TFR 57:58:04 5:13
11 BASSO Ivan ITA CAN 57:58:58 6:07
12 HESJEDAL Ryder CAN GRS 57:59:04 6:13
13 MORABITO Steve SUI BMC 57:59:44 6:53
14 ULISSI Diego ITA LAM 58:00:12 7:21

But his ambition level is clearly much higher. Stage win, GC podium or nothing methinks.

Not much he can do on this extended Vuelta style stage design.

 

[lenric]

Evans dropped, then Uran, then Pozzo. Quintana wins time to everyone.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

But what is Rolland actually worth against the other GC men. Because he began the last climb with a minute bonus, and lost almost everything of that lead, plus Hesjedal was slightly better in the end.

I do wonder.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I disagree with that. And even if you were right, it would definitely look more impressive.

Doping is not the only reason racing is more conservative these days. After all, Levi Leipheimer spent his whole career doped up and never animated anything.

Points systems and riding to defend placements rather than risk the placement to win a stage or get a win are killing the sport, and the parcours designers are either struggling to take this into account and serving up routes it is easy to control (recent Dauphinés, Tours and Paris-Nice editions), or are realising what is creating gaps and going to illogical extremes to serve this (the Vuelta, which is marginalising the TT and going overboard with summit finishes on stupidly tough gradients). So we're left either way with racing that is controlled until the last 5km. One day racing has in recent history served up much better racing than stage races. And why is that? A large part of it is that in a one-day race there's nothing afterward that you need to save yourself for.

 

[Red Rick]

This is a nicely designed stage. The long final climb begins at 40k beyond Saturday's stage, and the last 6k of the climb begins at about the same altitude as Oropa's finish line. With a rest day following, we might get to see some significant time gaps.

This stage is a lot of things, but it's not a nicely designed stage. This is the most disgraceful stage you can design that finishes on a Plan Di Montecampione. It's not a worthy tribute to Il Pirata

 

[hfer07]

This stage is a lot of things, but it's not a nicely designed stage. This is the most disgraceful stage you can design that finishes on a Plan Di Montecampione. It's not a worthy tribute to Il Pirata

The Organizers rational for this stage design was to make the length the main factor to wear down the peloton before the climb, but I do believe what this kind of course is going to do is to force all the GC riders to sit up until the foot of the climb-perhaps a breakaway might make it, but is unlikely....

I would have either sacrificed the length for another climb before Montecampione or have a consecutive bumps (3k climbs) near to the last climb , so it could encourage the kind of activity that we had on stage 14....

 

[VeloHuman]

Interested to see how Aru does on this very long climb after a very long day.

 

[MotorRouleur]

The biggest observation I have this wkd is that in a race with depleted teams and no one or two dominating teams (like SKY), GC guys need ... alliances.

Look at what Hesjedal & Rolland accomplished; far more than they could have individually, or by sticking with their teamates.

Look at the top 10 and just think about the combos of guys on different squadra (example, Tinkoff/Astana) who could briefly team-up to gang-up.

When you're at your limit of energy, go further with synergy.

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

Interested to see how Aru does on this very long climb after a very long day.

He will crush everyone ofc

 

[howardyou]

This stage is a lot of things, but it's not a nicely designed stage. This is the most disgraceful stage you can design that finishes on a Plan Di Montecampione. It's not a worthy tribute to Il Pirata

My questions is:

Why is Pantani worthy of tributes? Because he is dead? Should we be putting Lance stages in the TDF now?

I'm not trolling, I just feel it's a fair question to ask.