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Stage 13 of the Giro d’Italia might have looked like a rest day for the General Classification riders but it turned out to be anything but as Sacha Modolo (Lampre – Merida) took out the stage in a much reduced bunch sprint.
He managed to lead home Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek Factory) and Elia Viviani (Sky) after a perfectly executed lead out.
However the stage winner once again will not be the story on everyone’s lips tomorrow. After a crash just 3.2 km out from the line, both Richie Porte and Alberto Contador have lost time. Fabio Aru now wears the leaders jersey with a 19 second advantage to Contador whilst Porte sits just over 5 minutes off the race lead.
For much of the day however a three man breakaway existed. The riders were Rick Zabel (BMC), Marco Frapporti (Androni Giocattoli) and Jerome Pineau (IAM Cycling).
After being allowed a 2 minute gap early in the stage they were stopped by a level crossing. Despite the peloton being neutralised, it wasn’t for the same amount of time as the breakaway and for the final 100 km of racing the gap never got larger than 1:15.
After they were reeled in with around 20 km to go plenty of teams fought for the front, but after a crash that took out a lot of riders on the wet and slippery roads just 3.2 km from the finish line Lampre executed the best.
Tomorrow’s stage 14 sees a 59 km individual time trial. Richie Porte still has the ability to take a lot of time tomorrow but 5 minutes is a long way back. Contador meanwhile should be able to out perform Aru and move back into pink.
In the end though on Stage 13, Lampre and Modolo in the best positioning and able to take victory.
A pancake flat ride of 147km from Montecchio Maggiore to Jesolo is what greets the peloton on Stage 13 of the 2015 Giro d’Italia. Join The Roar for our live coverage from 10:30pm (AEST).
Looking back to Stage 12 we saw Phillippe Gilbert (BMC) take out the stage in BMC’s first win of the Giro. He led home race leader Alberto Contador (Saxo – Tinkoff) who finished second and gained six seconds on all of his General Classification competitors. Diego Ulissi (Lampre – Merida) managed to finish in third.
Moving forward to Stage 13 now, and it will be the second shortest stage of the race along with having absolutely no categorised climbs on route. In fact the stage profile virtually doesn’t go uphill or downhill at all. It looks as If someone got a ruler and drew a straight line.
Predicted for the stage is a strong head wind and possible showers whilst both the intermediate sprints come early in the stage (after 58.4km and 77.3 km) so those going for the red jersey will more than likely contest for points.
The run in to the finish line at Jesolo however will be an interesting one. As they come inside of 10km to go the riders will turn right and take a narrow bridge that could end up being nasty, particularly if it does rain. After that it will be wide straight roads for a few kilometres before at 6km to go the peloton encounter a number of tricky corners.
The final 4km are straight ahead but include a number of traffic obstacles before a roundabout with 500 metres to go and a sharp right hand corner. There’s no question that positioning in the last 4 km will be key.
For this reason, combined with the fact the sprinters haven’t had much to cheer about in recent times should ensure a bunch sprint on the finish line. However in the 2014 Giro d’Italia, also on Stage 13 and almost a year to the day a similar looking stage greeted the riders. With a bit of poor weather and some bad management from the peloton a breakaway managed to hold on. Could it be a good omen for the escapists in the peloton?
Either way it is likely that wont happen so let’s have a look at who the contenders are for a sprint finish.
Andre Greipel (Lotto – Soudal) has to be the biggest favourite. The powerful German already has one stage in the race and could well be looking at abandoning it soon to prepare for Le Tour de France.
Another one who could take out the stage is Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek Factory) who has looked very strong in the last couple of days.
Other favourites include Elia Viviani (Sky), Sacha Modolo (Lampre Merida), Michael Matthews (Orica Green – Edge) and Luke Mezgec (Giant – Alpecin). Tom Boonen (Etixx Quickstep) and Alessandro Pettachi (Southeast) will both be keen to pick up something from their Giro as well.
Another interesting equation is the red jersey. Nicola Boem (Bardiani – CSF) will be keen for a high placing finish to try and hold his red jersey.
Prediction: Greipel. How can you go past him?
This looks like the one stage on the Giro where nothing should change in the General Classification but you just never know. Join The Roar from 10:30pm (AEST) to find out who has the strength to take out Stage 13 of the 2015 Giro d’Italia.