Stage 19: Treviso - San Martino di Castrozza 151 km
Friday, May 31st
START TIME: 12.55 CEST
FINISH TIME: ~17.15 CEST
Technical Overview:
It seems Vegni feels obligated to design at least one depressing MTF each year, so this year we get this one. This one is a short MTF ending in the heart of the Dolomites and avoiding most of them. The stage starts in Treviso and presents its first difficulty after 16 km, where the peloton will climb one of the many sides of Montello, S.Maria della Vittoria (4.8 km at 5.5%), which like all sides of Montello has a killer first km and then eases off to a false flat at the top. After the descent the road becomes flat again, but only for a few km: from the town of Valdobbiadene the terrain gets quite tricky, with twisty roads and even some >6% ramps here and there. This section lasts until the foot of the first GPM of the day, Passo di San Boldo (GPM3, 6.3 km at 6.8%), very famous for its tunneled hairpins near the top. There, a very fast descent brings everyone back to some more rolling terrain and two intermediate sprints, after which there will be the second GPM of the day, Lamon (GPM4, 4.8 km at 5.1%), which is also the easiest climb of the day. The descent is very short, and after it a 17 km long ascending false flat starts that brings to Fiera di Primiero, at the foot of the final climb of the day. San Martino di Castrozza (GPM2, 13.6 km at 5.6%) is basically two thirds of Passo Rolle, a very constant and pretty tame climb which is often overshadowed by its neighbours in terms of fame. It is, however, the first Dolomitic climb to have been raced in the Giro, so it has that going for it. Its ramps at a steady 6% will likely decide the winner today. Maybe the organizers had in mind something like the stage to Prato Nevoso of last year: have a straightforward MTF that might show the strength left to each GC contender, and with some luck show some weakness from the leader, encouraging a final full-out battle for tomorrow. Or maybe, they didn't have much in mind and just thought the Giro was already too hard as is, who knows...
The Climbs:
Passo di San Boldo, GPM3, 6.3 km at 6.8%
Harder than the numbers suggest. Especially in the last part, very steep and full of hairpins.
Lamon, GPM4, 4.8 km at 5.1%
No profile and nothing to note about this one.
San Martino di Castrozza, GPM2, 13.6 km at 5.6%
A very steady climb, almost always around 6%. It should favour a powerful climber.
What to expect:
Pure MTF on a power climb, it should have a pretty straightforward resolution. Who has more energy left wins and gains some seconds (but not minutes - for those, there is only tomorrow)
Passo San Boldo, hairpins in tunnels
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram