- May 5, 2010
- 48,051
- 26,477
- 28,180
And so, after the final rest day, the race continues. As always, all the stuff from Eshnar below.
Stage 17: Canazei – Sega di Ala 193 km
Wednesday, May 26th, 12.00 CEST
Technical Overview:
After the final rest day, a very demanding stage featuring the hardest 2-climb combo of this Giro. Starting from Canazei, where the peloton passed two days ago, the riders will go down along the whole Val di Fassa, almost 55 km of descending false flat. At the end of the valley they will hit the first climb of the day, Sveseri (GPM3, 2.9 km at 9.7%), a short and steep climb that might see some action if the breakaway isn’t established yet. From the top the road starts slightly descending again, eventually becoming a real descent of around 20 km that leads to the city of Trento, where the first intermediate sprint is located. From here on the stage follows the Adige river, with almost 50 km of flat terrain, including the second intermediate sprint in Mori. After reaching the town of Avio, the final combo will begin by climbing Passo San Valentino (GPM1, 14.8 km at 7.8%). This is a hard and long climb, with consistent ramps, especially in the middle section. The top is at 38 km to go, including almost 18 km of a very technical descent that ends at 20 km to go, on the same valley and same road the riders come from. Here they will simply keep riding again in the same direction towards Avio, but this time, after 8.6 km, they will instead turn left and tackle the last climb of the day, which is probably the hardest of this whole edition. Sega di Ala (GPM1, 11.2 km at 9.8%) has never been raced in the Giro, the only time it has been raced professionally being the 2013 Giro del Trentino. It is an irregular and grueling climb, that mixes false flats with double digit ramps often, particularly in its second half. And since its average gradient is 9.5%, those steep sections must be really steep indeed. The stage will finish at the village of Sega di Ala just like in 2013, although the climb goes even further up for 3 more km to the Passo Fittanze della Sega. It is a bit of a shame that they will not do the full climb… those last three km have gentle slopes and that would require riders to attack farther away from the finish. Maybe one day.
Final Kilometers
The Climbs:
Sveseri: GPM3, 2.9 km at 9.7%
A pretty steep short climb on a wide road. No profile available.
Passo San Valentino: GPM1, 14.8 km at 7.8%
Long and hard, with a very tough section of 8 km at almost 9%. It will do damage.
Sega di Ala: GPM1, 11.2 km at 9.8%
A new climb for the Giro, only raced once in the Giro del Trentino 2013, won by Nibali and featuring an impressive bike toss by Sir Wiggins. It is a terrific climb, that starts with a relatively regular gradient but then becomes very messy in the second half. The last two km are the easiest of the whole climb, so attacks better come before…
What to expect:
Mayhem at the start to get into the breakaway and mayhem on the final climb. I believe a solo attack on San Valentino is not possible, but a team action or an alliance would definitely work. The same goes for the descent. Whatever happens, it will be everyone by themselves on the last climb.
Trento
Stage 17: Canazei – Sega di Ala 193 km
Wednesday, May 26th, 12.00 CEST
Technical Overview:
After the final rest day, a very demanding stage featuring the hardest 2-climb combo of this Giro. Starting from Canazei, where the peloton passed two days ago, the riders will go down along the whole Val di Fassa, almost 55 km of descending false flat. At the end of the valley they will hit the first climb of the day, Sveseri (GPM3, 2.9 km at 9.7%), a short and steep climb that might see some action if the breakaway isn’t established yet. From the top the road starts slightly descending again, eventually becoming a real descent of around 20 km that leads to the city of Trento, where the first intermediate sprint is located. From here on the stage follows the Adige river, with almost 50 km of flat terrain, including the second intermediate sprint in Mori. After reaching the town of Avio, the final combo will begin by climbing Passo San Valentino (GPM1, 14.8 km at 7.8%). This is a hard and long climb, with consistent ramps, especially in the middle section. The top is at 38 km to go, including almost 18 km of a very technical descent that ends at 20 km to go, on the same valley and same road the riders come from. Here they will simply keep riding again in the same direction towards Avio, but this time, after 8.6 km, they will instead turn left and tackle the last climb of the day, which is probably the hardest of this whole edition. Sega di Ala (GPM1, 11.2 km at 9.8%) has never been raced in the Giro, the only time it has been raced professionally being the 2013 Giro del Trentino. It is an irregular and grueling climb, that mixes false flats with double digit ramps often, particularly in its second half. And since its average gradient is 9.5%, those steep sections must be really steep indeed. The stage will finish at the village of Sega di Ala just like in 2013, although the climb goes even further up for 3 more km to the Passo Fittanze della Sega. It is a bit of a shame that they will not do the full climb… those last three km have gentle slopes and that would require riders to attack farther away from the finish. Maybe one day.
Final Kilometers
The Climbs:
Sveseri: GPM3, 2.9 km at 9.7%
A pretty steep short climb on a wide road. No profile available.
Passo San Valentino: GPM1, 14.8 km at 7.8%
Long and hard, with a very tough section of 8 km at almost 9%. It will do damage.
Sega di Ala: GPM1, 11.2 km at 9.8%
A new climb for the Giro, only raced once in the Giro del Trentino 2013, won by Nibali and featuring an impressive bike toss by Sir Wiggins. It is a terrific climb, that starts with a relatively regular gradient but then becomes very messy in the second half. The last two km are the easiest of the whole climb, so attacks better come before…
What to expect:
Mayhem at the start to get into the breakaway and mayhem on the final climb. I believe a solo attack on San Valentino is not possible, but a team action or an alliance would definitely work. The same goes for the descent. Whatever happens, it will be everyone by themselves on the last climb.
Trento
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