Giro d'Italia 2021 Giro d'Italia, Stage 15: Grado – Gorizia 147 km

[Bonimenier]

All credits go to our true God Eshnar

Stage 15: Grado – Gorizia 147 km

Sunday, May 23rd, 13.15 CEST

Technical Overview:

The Giro passes through Slovenia for a rather tame stage, considering this is the penultimate Sunday. Starting in Grado, at the edge of the Marano Lagoon, the peloton will cross the lagoon on a bridge and then head north into the inland, traversing mostly pan flat roads with the exception of the small climb to Monte San Michele, little more than a false flat. Soon after the first intermediate sprint in Mariano del Friuli, the riders will enter a circuit to be repeated three times. The circuit enters Slovenia and climbs the only categorized climb of the day, Gornje Cerovo (GPM4, 1.7 km at 8.5%), a short but pretty steep wall. It is followed by a 6 km false flat and a short descent heading west before the road gets back to Italy, only to do everything again, as I mentioned, two more times. After the GPM on the last lap (topping at 16.5 km to go), the riders will change direction and descent to Italy from a shorter route, heading east this time, towards Gorizia. Here the road will go one more time into Slovenia, to visit the Slovenian version of Gorizia, Nova Gorica. Here they will have the second intermediate sprint and then a small climb of 1 km at 5.9%, topping at 3 km to go. One km of descent will then bring the peloton back to Italy and to the finish line in Gorizia itself.



Final Kilometers

The Climbs:

Gornje Cerovo: GPM4, 1.7 km at 8.5%

A steep wall with a 15% maximum gradient.

What to expect:

This stage will probably not be contested by the peloton, considering what is in store for tomorrow. The breakaway will take it and the battle between the fugitives on the final climb(s) should be fun, but without any GC implication.

Castello di Gorizia

 

[roundabout]

I wonder what the route plan A was for this stage (I will continue to refuse to believe that this is plan A even if Vegni says otherwise).

 

[Gigs_98]

I wonder what the route plan A was for this stage (I will continue to refuse to believe that this is plan A even if Vegni says otherwise).

I understand it. They clearly put this stage in to capitalize on the recent cycling hype in Slovenia and there is no better day to do that than a weekend. In addition, isn't Monday a national holiday too? At least it's in Austria so I guess it's probably the same in Italy. So you can just as well put a big highlight stage on monday and since 3 mountain stages in a row is a bit much anyway you might as well put this one in between.

 

[Panda Claws]

I think this could actually become carnage.

 

[roundabout]

I understand it. They clearly put this stage in to capitalize on the recent cycling hype in Slovenia and there is no better day to do that than a weekend. In addition, isn't Monday a national holiday too? At least it's in Austria so I guess it's probably the same in Italy. So you can just as well put a big highlight stage on monday and since 3 mountain stages in a row is a bit much anyway you might as well put this one in between.

I am aware of all that.

However, having a completely GC irrelevant stage on a penultimate weekend is still poor planning, whatever the excuses.

 

[Red Rick]

Remember the epic damage San Daniele del Friuli did last year?

This will do about 10% of that.

It's 150km too, so only drunk Contador 3 minutes down would try

 

[Red Rick]

Sagan for the win

 

[Gigs_98]

Is De Gendt still alive btw? Wasn't he in this race once? This stage should suit him to the toe.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I am aware of all that.

However, having a completely GC irrelevant stage on a penultimate weekend is still poor planning, whatever the excuses.

The 2011 Tour de France, backloaded to the extreme, still found time to put this on the penultimate Sunday despite literally every remaining stage until the Champs being GC-relevant:

In fact, it's almost an annual tradition in Le Tour to have such a stage on the penultimate Sunday. 2014 had this epic:

2015 this unforgettable stage:

2016 changed things up by making Sunday relevant, but having this on the penultimate Saturday:

2017 followed that pattern:

While last year after a couple of days of at least trying, they went with this.

The Tour, however, has been far more proactive this year so the Giro has to cover for them. Not that they're exempt from criticism, after all in 2017 they gave us something potentially even worse: this.

 

[Lequack]

Diego Ullisi to win this from the break.

 

[Netserk]

I am aware of all that.

However, having a completely GC irrelevant stage on a penultimate weekend is still poor planning, whatever the excuses.

Was it you who suggested it as an ITT when the route was unveiled?

 

[Panda Claws]

Is De Gendt still alive btw? Wasn't he in this race once? This stage should suit him to the toe.

I think he tweeted something about his knee a few days ago.

 

[sir fly]

I think he tweeted something about his knee a few days ago.

He'll break them all over the knee?

Tough to expect GC action after Zoncolan and before Monday's brute.
But inviting profile for stage hunters. Rather composition-wise than by numbers resembles the last year's to San Daniele del Friuli .

 

[Panda Claws]

He'll break them all over the knee?

Tough to expect GC action after Zoncolan and before Monday's brute.
But inviting profile for stage hunters. Rather composition-wise than by numbers resembles the last year's to San Daniele del Friuli .

https://twitter.com/x/status/1395298456743383040

View: https://twitter.com/DeGendtThomas/status/1395298456743383040?s=20


"My knee says no."

No clue if this is just pure banter though.

 

[Lequack]

Probably taking a shot at the sprinters.

 

[gregrowlerson]

Weekend this, weekend that. In Australia we view things differently.

Instead it's "How dare you put the Zoncolan on when I am out clubbing?"

 

[roundabout]

The 2011 Tour de France, backloaded to the extreme, still found time to put this on the penultimate Sunday despite literally every remaining stage...

It's the Giro, not the Tour. That Tour does the weekend stages that badly is a seprate topic.

The stage on Sunday is the single easiest penultimate weekend Giro road stage of the last 15 years (at least) and that includes the unusual 2009 edition.

Even a redo of Oropa 17 stage hockey stick profile would be an improvement.

 

[roundabout]

Was it you who suggested it as an ITT when the route was unveiled?

Yes. And moving the ITT to Saturday and Zoncolan to Sunday.

This stage stuck out like a sore thumb when the route was presented and it still does now.

 

[Mayomaniac]

I guess next year we'll get a Vrsic or a Matajur Mtf, Cainero has already plans for a big mountain stage in Slovenia to lure in their gc stars.

If this one ends in a reduced sprint it's guys like Vendrame, Cimolai and Consonni vs Sagan.

 

[MTV]

Tratnik?

 

[Red Rick]

The 2011 Tour de France, backloaded to the extreme, still found time to put this on the penultimate Sunday despite literally every remaining stage until the Champs being GC-relevant:

In fact, it's almost an annual tradition in Le Tour to have such a stage on the penultimate Sunday. 2014 had this epic:

2015 this unforgettable stage:

2016 changed things up by making Sunday relevant, but having this on the penultimate Saturday:

2017 followed that pattern:

While last year after a couple of days of at least trying, they went with this.

The Tour, however, has been far more proactive this year so the Giro has to cover for them. Not that they're exempt from criticism, after all in 2017 they gave us something potentially even worse: this.

Tbh, an Unipuerto where the first part is steepest have way overdelivered in the last few years

 

[Billie]

3 times 1.7kms @ 8% and once 1km @ 5% is surely not enough to stop any sprinters that are left in this race?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Tbh, an Unipuerto where the first part is steepest have way overdelivered in the last few years

...that Oropa stage? Oropa is nothing like hard enough for a hockey stick profile, especially not such a short stage. Montecampione or Mont Ventoux or PSM Unipuerto, sure, I'll buy that. Those climbs are hard enough that they will be decisive in and of themselves. Hockey stick 130km to Oropa was just awful. That was the absolute nadir of the short-mountain-stage fetishization and one of the rare situations where the Tour actually outdoes the Giro - the thing that attracted people to the short mountain stages was that, because of their short distance, riders were less afraid of going from afar and taking opportunities given to them elsewhere by the parcours. Making the short mountain stage Unipuerto completely takes that out of the equation and just renders it an uphill sprint and plays into the hands of the mountain trains because the whole assembly will be hitting the base fresh. If Pantani hadn't gone nuts there and the Giro become obsessed with treating him like he was Binda, Girardengo, Coppi and Bartali rolled into one, then it's a complete nothing climb. Think of all the great Giro sites that weren't in Giro 100, and yet Oropa was, in a 130km Unipuerto stage that would have been considered a pretty easy mountain stage in the Giro Rosa.

 

[Red Rick]

...that Oropa stage? Oropa is nothing like hard enough for a hockey stick profile, especially not such a short stage. Montecampione or Mont Ventoux or PSM Unipuerto, sure, I'll buy that. Those climbs are hard enough that they will be decisive in and of themselves. Hockey stick 130km to Oropa was just awful. That was the absolute nadir of the short-mountain-stage fetishization and one of the rare situations where the Tour actually outdoes the Giro - the thing that attracted people to the short mountain stages was that, because of their short distance, riders were less afraid of going from afar and taking opportunities given to them elsewhere by the parcours. Making the short mountain stage Unipuerto completely takes that out of the equation and just renders it an uphill sprint and plays into the hands of the mountain trains because the whole assembly will be hitting the base fresh. If Pantani hadn't gone nuts there and the Giro become obsessed with treating him like he was Binda, Girardengo, Coppi and Bartali rolled into one, then it's a complete nothing climb. Think of all the great Giro sites that weren't in Giro 100, and yet Oropa was, in a 130km Unipuerto stage that would have been considered a pretty easy mountain stage in the Giro Rosa.

Obviously the stage design was shambolic. It's probably the stage that overdelivered the most in the last 5 years. All just a consequence of having the best climber needing to attack cause of a big boy ITTer in the lead.

Obviously I remember that stage fondly because of Dumoulin winning. Also the stage after was *** dreadfully designed as well

 

[stetre76]

Tratnik?

Not after todays effort...