I don't know what the roads are like, but Stage 17 seems unlikely to be a place where Leaky can gain any time. If it gets technical, it is a different story.
What I expect, possibly tomorrow and definitely on Stages 19 and 20, is for a fast pace and for Nibali to attack one day, and Basso the next, in an attempt to wear Evans out when he has to chase one, so that the next day he is toasted. Basically a repeat of this past weekend.
Lots of 'ifs' to think about.
These stages have some verrry big climbs, but they do not actually end in a big climb.
They are shorter stages than either of this past weekend (the cumulative difference is about 54 km less riding) between the two, but there is greater than
4000 meters of additional climbing over that shorter distance!
Evans appeared to have some gearing issues on Zoncolan, which likely will not repeat itself. If it does, he might chop off his mechanics head.
The sheer horror of these stages may actually prevent some of the crazy riding we saw this weekend. There is more climbing in Stage 20's 178 km than there was in Stages 14 and 15
combined! Then again, this is the type of terrain that Basso used to love.
Love the Giro