Decisive? No. Dangerous? Yes. Today’s finish is uphill and steep enough to eliminate some sprinters and the race takes a steep descent with several hairpin bends on the finishing circuit.
After yesterday’s chaos today should bring some order. It’s forecast to rain at times but with a break up the road it’ll be near-impossible for the bunch to neutralise the stage.
Rest day? Today’s stage sees the riders given the morning off and starts well after lunch. At 112km including eight laps around the city of Bari this looks like part group recovery-ride, part exhibition criterium.
A rest day in the Giro but really a day of travel with three flights out of Dublin, two with passengers and one loaded with freight, mainly bikes.
The whole of Ireland didn’t turn pink but the crowds along the route were impressive and the lengths people went to for the race were impressive from the pink clothing to even painting electricity pylons – the more you think about it the more it was a huge undertaking. It’s abnormal for the Giro to visit Ireland of course but it’s this oddity that attracts the big crowds, the event is unusual and probably won’t be back for years.
The third and final stage of the Rás d’Italia heads to Dublin. More exposed roads, more rain and more sprinting awaits. As well as changing country the difference today is the weather with a crosswind to be exploited.
Belfast to Belfast. Today’s route looks like something you’d find in a brochure, a circuit for tourists with a rental car. The cyclists mind find it less enjoyable with heavy downpours forecast before a sprint finish.
A team time trial to immediately create a chronological hierarchy. It’s probably not going to be good TV but it will resonate for weeks to come.
This course is fast and flat with teams expected to exceed 50km/h. It’s one for the powerful squads with heavyset riders and we should see Cadel Evans and Nairo Quintana pull out a lead on their rivals… but the obvious pick for today is Orica-Greenedge.
Quintana, Rodriguez, Evans, Uran et al are the talk of town in Belfast and rightly so since the Giro has 38,000 vertical metres of climbing. All the mountains are backloaded into the race and the overall contenders and pretenders will merely hope to finish first week feel fresh and without losing any time. In short they’re sleeper agents until Stage 8.
The first week is all about the sprinters with a series of flat finishes and the time bonuses to allow them to take the race lead.
With 48 hours to go time for a look at the contenders for the 2014 Giro. Nairo Quintana seems to be everyone’s pick but a lot of this is based on his ride in the Tour de France, an event now 40 weeks ago and plenty has changed in his life since. After Quintana comes the in-form Cadel Evans with Joaquim Rodriguez and Rigoberto Urán as the main pretenders for the podium and behind them a longer list.
But predictions are there to be demolished. Last year nobody could predict the weather and the racing was varied and often dramatic.
The post below is old. For the version that gets updated daily visit inrng.com/giro
Here’s a guide to the 2014 Giro d’Italia with stage profiles and accompanying summaries plus all the technical information on race rules, time bonuses, TV schedules and more.
RCS have put out updated stage info and more on the Giro website. Just as there’s a season-long calendar of all the major men’s and women’s races to download, here’s the stage by stage Giro ical for your phone or electronic diary.