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With the third and final rest day now behind us, the 2014 Giro d’Italia resumes piling on the pain with a 139-kilometre stage from Ponte di Legno to Val Martello. Join The Roar for live updates and discussion of all the race action from 11:00pm AEST.
Despite being relatively short, the Queen Stage of the 2014 Giro d’Italia features over 4300 metres of climbing. It’s an extreme test of endurance for even the general classification riders, with almost half the day spent going uphill.
Encompassing the Cima Coppi, highest point of the race, of the Passo Dello Stelvio, sandwiched in between the category 1 Passo di Gavia and Val Martello, Stage 16 has a bounty of points on offer for those chasing the maglia azzurra of the mountains classification. The stage victory is also up for grabs if the GC contenders mark each other out of contention.
The torment will begin just six kilometres of the stage’s commencement, as the peloton slam in to the slopes of the Passo di Gavia. Officially measuring 16.5 kilometres in length, the Gavia features an average gradient of 8 per cent, with sections as high as 16 per cent.
A technical descent will follow the summit of the Gavia and bring the riders to the beginning of the infamous Passo Della Stelvio, which officially measures 21.7 kilometres in length with an average gradient of 7.2 per cent, though some sections as high as 12 per cent. Another technical descent follows the Stelvio’s summit.
A brief respite of roughly 20 kilometres follows, before the beginning of Val Martello. Unless someone manages to pull off the unlikely, the Val Martello should be the decisive climb of the day in the battle for the maglia rosa.
Rather than one consistent steady slope to the summit, the Val Martello is almost stepped in nature. The riders will experience sections as high as 14 per cent, followed by periods as low as 1 per cent, a mixture of the agonisingly painful and relatively comfortable.
Should the result of the stage, or time gains in the GC, come down to the final 1500 metres, the advantage should lie with the featherweight climbers like Domenico Pozzovivo and Nairo Quintana. A nasty of ramp above 10 per cent in gradient, maxing out at 14 per cent, dominates the majority of the stage’s finale.
Should a breakaway fail to steal the stage victory then we can expect the GC favourites to battle for the stage honours, with Nairo Quintana the absolute favourite in the eyes of many if he is approaching anywhere near top form.
However, with no one rider yet to display a consistent dominance in the mountains, we cannot rule out say Domenico Pozzovivo banishing the disappointment of a lacklustre Stage 15 with fiery vengeance.
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