The third rest-day of the 2016 Giro d’Italia comes after a brace of critical stages in the mountains over the weekend. Saturday’s expedition through the Dolomites was dubbed as the ‘queen stage’ and saw a significant shift in the general classification complexion, while the overall contenders had to back it up on Sunday’s tough 10.8km time trial up the Alpe di Siusi. With a new maglia rosa, a pre-race favourite in disarray, and plenty more besides, Cyclingnews takes a look at where it has left the GC contenders ahead of the final week.
Rider: Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL-Jumbo)
GC position: Leader
Weekend performance: When Vincenzo Nibali attacked on the Valparola, Kruijswijk was alive to it and was almost immediately up to the Italian – a reaction that oozed confidence and strength. His subsequent attack, which dropped Nibali and briefly Chaves, was proof that the Dutchman is feeling really strong and, while the Colombian took stage honours, he took pink, putting over half a minute into pre-race favourite Nibali and much more into the rest. Save for missing out on the stage win by a fraction of a second, the time trial could not have gone better for Kruijswijk. The steady, and not horrendously steep, climb suited his style and he made his way up the Alpe di Siusi with poise, his square shoulders barely moving. Putting 40 seconds into Chaves was satisfying enough, but 2:10 into Nibali was above and beyond, taking him from underdog to firm occupier of the driving seat.
Bidon half-full or half-empty? Full to the brim. The Dutchman has not put a foot wrong so far in this Giro and, though he had high hopes for this race, he can’t have imagined it would be unfolding this well. Not only is he in pink; he’s in pink by over two minutes. Attacks can be expected – not least from the collective might of Astana – and the depth of LottoNL-Jumbo’s resources, and Kruijswijk’s resilience will be tested to the full, but still, this Giro is now his to lose.
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Rider: Esteban Chaves (Orica-GreenEdge)
GC Position: 2nd at 2:12
Weekend performance: Chaves has looked impressive throughout the second week of racing as the race hit his favoured terrain. The other GC contenders have been unable to shake the smiling Colombian, even on the descents. Comfortable in his position as an underdog, Chaves turned defence into attack on the queen stage from Alpago to Corvara when he followed a move from Kruisjwijk on the Passo Valparola. Another dig from the Colombian further up the climb distanced pre-race favourite Nibali, who had also followed Kruijswijk’s attack. He looked calm and collected as he and his companion rode away from those who had been given a bigger billing ahead of the Giro. A strong finish sealed the day with a stage win and pushed him up into a podium placing. Chaves’ position in the GC in the GC was by no means secure, with the time trial still to come on Sunday. He lost time on the flatter starting section but put in yet another impressive performance to finish just 40 seconds down on the stage winner. Nibali’s mechanical problems allowed Chaves to step up into second place, too.
Bidon half-full or half-empty? No matter what the status quo, Chaves is always a half-full sort of guy. With two big mountain stages to come and no more time trials, Chaves’ bidon is probably close to over-flowing. He’ll face some tough challenges en-route to Torino but there is little to lose for the little kangaroo as he aims for his best Grand Tour finish to date.
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