The final stage of the Giro should be a procession and celebration but it’s almost 200km long meaning it won’t be a simple victory parade.
If the overall result won’t change there’s still a show to put on and a final sprint where Mark Cavendish can win the stage and take the red jersey off Vincenzo Nibali.
The final mountain stage of the Giro sees a revised route but the summit finish of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo remains… for now but the weather forecast does not look good.
Snow, mist and icy temperatures remain and if the route is flatter it will still be a challenge, after it’s 210km and finishes on a very tough climb. Vincenzo Nibali has a firm hold on the race but the cold can do anything. But if the Italian copes, others might not.
It’s great to follow a stage race on TV and the web but the race belongs to the roadside crowds more than any remote audience. Watching the race from the side of the road is the best vantage point possible because if offers more than a visual spectacle, you can hear and smell the race too.
But it’s easy to make a few mistakes. Just as racers need info and plans on a mountain stage, spectators can gain from preparing too. Here are some tips for a day spent watching a grand tour, especially for a day out in the mountains.
A late change because of the weather sees less climbing and a small increase in distance but for all the alterations this is still a brutal mountain stage and the Giro cannot alter the weather.
The start and final summit remain but what if the biggest difficulty of the day was the bad weather?
An uphill time trial but one that’s not strictly mountainous as it features wide roads with a regular gradient and fresh tarmac.
Indeed today’s course offers the kind of certainty and mild weather that Giro organisers RCS crave ahead of the big mountain stages on Friday and Saturday which are threatened by poor weather.
Who runs cycling? Ag2r La Mondiale will sit out the Critérium du Dauphiné in accordance with the MPCC rules which state a team must stop racing for eight days following two positive anti-doping controls in the past 12 months. But the UCI rules say a team has to ride every race on the World Tour calendar and a substantial six-figure fine could be liable.
But there’s no need for an oppositional tone, the MPCC has proposed ideas which the UCI has readily adopted. Perhaps it’s time to do the same?
A day for the sprinters? Well the more you look, the less likely it seems. The profile shows a mischievous climb 16km from the finish but the secret lies in the narrow roads.
The race visits Vicenza to salute Tulio Campagnolo, the inventor of the quick-release lever and perfecter of the derailleur. Riders today will need to master more than their gear shifting to cope with the final climb.
Maglia Rosa, triumph and tragedy at the Giro d’Italia by Herbie Sykes
Another history book? No, this is much more. It’s a collection of stories from the Giro and Italy that goes beyond a sepia-tinged list of past race incidents, names and nostalgia. The second-edition version is also updated with commentary on the sport that looks at how the Giro is trying to find its place in the sport.
The final week of the Giro begins as it will finish: climbing in the Alps. But the stage is dominated by a long valley section before a tricky final spike that should be just enough to thwart the sprinters before a finish in Ivrea.
With the Giro rest day in the ski resort of Valloire, a report from Saint-Jean de Maurienne, a town just down in the valley below that was recently host to the FDJ team’s mountain training camp.
After a few days training with Thibaut Pinot and Alex Geniez, Jérémy Roy is joined by many more of his FDJ team mates for a bigger mountain training camp. As he explains it’s easy to avoid seeing many of your team mates during the year and this is a chance to meet up. But it’s not a social occasion, it’s a chance to recce more Tour de France stages, practice team time riding and more, all whilst trying to avoid the threat of rain in the high mountains.