Although the weather is continuously trying to hold them back, the peloton must continue, and the races rumbles on on the 2nd longest stage of the Giro, a 230km rolling affair which travels across 'the Boot' from the city of Avellino in Campania (which fans will know as the original ancestral Italian hometown of the Soprano family from the famous TV series) to Bitonto in Puglia, a city known for its high quality olive oil, which is exported globally.
With the final 50km or so being largely flat or downhill, I can't really look past a sprint finish. Perhaps a large multi-team breakaway (like on stage 8) might have enough collective strength to have a go over the stage, because no team will have an incentive to chase early, but even then it's no guarantee. Certainly I don't think a 3-5 man group could survive an entire 230km stage on the attack... Potentially in bad weather too. I'll go with Farrar, just for kicks.
With the final 50km or so being largely flat or downhill, I can't really look past a sprint finish. Perhaps a large multi-team breakaway (like on stage 8) might have enough collective strength to have a go over the stage, because no team will have an incentive to chase early, but even then it's no guarantee. Certainly I don't think a 3-5 man group could survive an entire 230km stage on the attack... Potentially in bad weather too. I'll go with Farrar, just for kicks.