After Tuesday's 222km marathon queen stage over the Stelvio and the 219km transfer stage east on Wednesday, Tom Dumoulin's grip on the maglia rosa will be tested in a much shorter but far more intense stage in the Dolomites on Thursday.
The 137km stage is one of the shortest in the 100th Giro d'Italia but with nearly 4000 metres of climbing and five major passes in just four of hours of racing, it will again force Dumoulin and his Team Sunweb squad on the defensive.
With Nairo Quintana (Movistar) just 31 seconds back after the stage over the Stelvio, and Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) at only 1:12, the Colombian and the Sicilian believe they have a real chance of victory. Even after 17 stages the Giro d'Italia is on a knife-edge.
ADVERTISEMENT
Because of the intensity and the density of the climbs over such a short distance, stage 18 has to be considered difficilissima," Race director Mauro Vegni said in the special Giro d'Italia created by Italian magazine Bicisport.
"It's hard to choose between the Stelvio stage and this stage as the real queen stage. Climbing the Stelvio twice is special but there is simply nowhere for the riders to catch their breath on stage 18."
Five climbs in 137km
The stage profile will be frightening to look as the teams and rider plan their strategy and prepare mentally for a third consecutive day of climbing.
Stomach
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://ift.tt/2qfLt9j
No comments:
Post a Comment