Can Esteban Chavez hold onto pink and deliver Orica GreenEdge their first ever Grand Tour on the penultimate stage of the Giro d’Italia? Find out as The Roar brings you live coverage of the 134 kilometre journey from Guillestre to Sant’anna di Vinadio from 8:45pm (AEST).
Steven Kruijswijk (Lotto NL-Jumbo) held pink by three minutes heading into yesterday, but crashed and now has slipped back to third.
But Kruijswijk’s loss was to the gain of Chavez as he took over the pink jersey. It was a team attack up the Colle dell’Angelo, headed up by Damien Howson that cracked the peloton and ensure a small group would go over the top.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Chavez though after he and Nibali went clear on the final climb. He would lose the wheel of a fired up Nibali, and lose 50 seconds on the line, with even Mikel Nieve (Sky) sweeping past him for second spot on the stage.
It leaves Nibali just 44 seconds behind on the General Classification, and with reports coming out of Italy that Kruijswijk has broken a rib after the crash it is doubtful he will be able to do much on the penultimate day.
Over a distance of just 134 kilometres – that in itself is not normal for the Giro who generally prefer stages in excess of 200 kilometres, there are four categorised climbs, which include three Category 1 and a Category 3 summit finish.
They climb almost instantly up the Col de Vars which is summited 19 kilometres into the stage, before they go up the Col de la Bonette which goes uphill for about 18 kilometres. At the top they descend for almost 40 kilometres before beginning the final climbs of the Giro.
The Colle Della Lombarde will climb for 20 kilometres, up to 2350 metres above sea level at an average gradient of 7.8 per cent. There is only a short descent before lining up for the Category 3 climb to the finish – which is two kilometres at nearly 10 per cent.
After a day of climbing, an explosive effort like that could open up huge time gaps if anyone has the legs, so don’t write off Alejandro Valverde who is almost two minutes behind.
Chavez has looked strong on the defensive throughout the Giro, but was put into some serious discomfort on the final climb tomorrow. Still, he won’t have to make the attack tonight and has time to play with.
Nibali on the other hand has looked ordinary for the last week but came into this own yesterday. Was it a one off burst? The way he rode you have to think not, but he is going to suffer for going into the red zone trying to hang on at 2700 metres.
With a chance of rain, this stage could absolutely have it all.
Prediction
How do you predict something with so many variables? Has Nibali emptied the tank a little too far? That’s the question – if Chavez can hold the back wheel he wins the Giro.
Chavez to hold onto pink by the skin of his teeth, a strong breakaway to go clear and win the stage.
Be sure to join The Roar for what should be an epic day of racing from 8:45pm (AEST) and don’t forget to add your own comments in the section below.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde
Scott Pryde
Expert
Stage Results: The 2016 Giro d'Italia's penultimate stage has been taken by Rein Taaramae (Katusha) after the breakaway managed to stay clear, but back in the peloton it was Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) who rode away from everyone to take the pink jersey. It was a waiting game for much of the day in the peloton, but Astana played their cards down to perfection for Nibali and he would ride Esteban Chavez (Orica GreenEdge) to claim the pink jersey and barring any major disaster the overall race victory. After a fast start to the day with the race going straight uphill, Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) looked like he was going to use his teammates to pull a long range attack, but was pulled back quickly. The race would quickly settle down with the Orica GreenEdge team coming to the front of the race in an attempt to control things for Chavez. The pace went right off in the bunch and a breakaway would quickly build a large lead. The men who made the move were: Darwin Atampuma (BMC), Giovanni Visconti (Movistar), Tanel Kangert (Astana), Mikel Nieve (Sky), Joe Dombrowski (Cannondale), Alexander Foliforov (Gazprom-Rusvelo), Stefan Denifl (IAM) and Rein Taaramae (Katusha). Nieve would attack on the biggest climb of the day in the middle of the stage and open up a two minute gap over the rest of his compatriots, taking the lead and victory of the King of the Mountains classification. He would eventually be caught by a trio of Atapuma, Dombrowski and Visconti, who quickly proceeded to move past him and try to ride away with the stage. However, there was little cohesion up front as Taaramae and Kangert made their way back to the leaders. Moving into the back end of the stage, it would be Taaramae who would put in the best attack of the lot, riding away. Atapuma followed, but was simply unable to stay on the wheel. He did drop the others though as he chased Taaramae. Back in the peloton, Nibali slowly bruned through his teammates, waiting for the moment to attack. The group was down to just eight riders as Michelle Scarponi led the way, before the first move came. Scarponi would ride away, with Nibali getting onto the back wheel quickly. Chavez responded well to that attack and one other not long after, but neither were big attacks - just leg burners. When Scarponi finally decided enough was enough, Nibali came to the front and upped the pace with Chavez simply unable to follow the wheel. He looked defeated, and that would be the case as he simply was not able to get his legs to work for him. Alejandro Valverde would join him, but offer little support before fellow Columbian Rigoberto Uran joined in the chase, desperately trying to pull for Chavez. In the end, Chavez couldn't even keep up with Uran and he continued to fall behind - back into the group of Steven Kruijswijk (Lotto Jumbo) and white jersey winner Bob Jungels (Etixx-Quickstep). Despite his best efforts on the final descent and climb to the line, Nibali was simply too strong and crossed the line 1 minute and 35 seconds ahead of Chavez. With Valverde just 14 seconds behind, towing Uran across the line with him it means he is just 25 seconds behind Chavez, who manages to hold second place. So, Nibali wins his second Giro d'Italia, but the efforts of Chavez should not be understated. The youngster has a massive future ahead of him, but today is all about Nibali. Top 10: 1. Rein Taaramae (Katusha) @ 4:22:43 2. Darwin Atapuma (BMC) + 0:52 3. Joe Dombrowski (Cannondale) + 1:17 4. Mikel Nieve (Sky) + 4:12 5. Alexander Foliforov (Gazprom-Rusvelo) + 4:36 6. Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) + 6:44 7. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) + 6:57 8. Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale Pro Cycling) + 6:57 9. Giovanni Visconti (Movistar) + 7:47 10. Rafal Majka (Tinkoff) + 8:06 Top 10 General Classification 1. Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) @ 82:44:31 2. Esteban Chaves (Orica-GreenEdge) + 0:52 3. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team) + 1:17 4. Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNl-Jumbo + 1:50 5. Rafal Majka (Tinkoff) + 4:37 6. Bob Jungels (Etixx – Quick-Step) + 8:31 7. Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale) + 11:47 8. Andrey Amador (Movistar) + 13:21 9. Darwin Atapuma (BMC) + 14:09 10. Kanstantsin Siutsou (Dimension Data) + 16:20
Scott Pryde
Expert
Top 10, General Classification after Stage 20 1. Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) @ 82:44:31 2. Esteban Chaves (Orica-GreenEdge) + 0:52 3. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team) + 1:17 4. Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNl-Jumbo + 1:50 5. Rafal Majka (Tinkoff) + 4:37 6. Bob Jungels (Etixx - Quick-Step) + 8:31 7. Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale) + 11:47 8. Andrey Amador (Movistar) + 13:21 9. Darwin Atapuma (BMC) + 14:09 10. Kanstantsin Siutsou (Dimension Data) + 16:20
Jono
Guest
Congrats to Nibali for that win. I'm not going to pretend I like him (his behaviour at the Vuelta last year was pretty disgraceful), but he deserves that win with how he performed in the last two days. He lost time in two mountain stages in the first 2 weeks, had a mechanical in the third TT and managed to pull it back at the death. That takes a lot of character and skill. I have to admit that going into the Giro I thought Chaves would struggle to get in the top 5 with the quality of contenders. To finish on the podium is sweet, but to gain the pink on the 3rd last stage to lose it on the next does give it a bitter taste. As disappointing as the last stage was the fact is Chaves has managed to get second at a Grand Tour. Second. That is an incredible result. This is the first time an Australian owned team will be on the podium and that, along with Chaves' performance in general, is something special.
Scott Pryde
Expert
No problems Diggs, Thanks for hanging around mate! Always makes it more enjoyable to have the comments flowing in!
Scott Pryde
Expert
TOP 10, Stage 20 1. Rein Taaramae (Katusha @ 4:22:43 2. Darwin Atapuma (BMC) + 0:52 3. Joe Dombrowski (Cannondale) + 1:17 4. Mikel Nieve (Sky) + 4:12 5. Alexander Foliforov (Gazprom-Rusvelo) + 4:36 6. Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) + 6:44 7. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) + 6:57 8. Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale Pro Cycling) + 6:57 9. Giovanni Visconti (Movistar) + 7:47 10. Rafal Majka (Tinkoff) + 8:06
Diggs
Roar Rookie
See you Scott, thanks for your effort tonight
Diggs
Roar Rookie
Coming second against the might of Movistar and Astana is an amazing result. OGE can take a lot of heart that on a much smaller budget it has secured second in its first time going for a GC
Scott Pryde
Expert
Absolutely. Very impressive from Chavez across the three weeks, he just has to get the experience and kilometres into the legs.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Full results and a stage recap will follow so be sure to keep an eye out for that. Thanks for joining The Roar's live coverage of the 2016 Giro d'Italia as Rein Taaramae took the penultimate stage and Vincenzo Nibali moves into the pink jersey, and barring disaster will win the race overall. I hope that you enjoyed the coverage throughout the evening. James McKern will be live with tomorrow's Stage 21 as the Giro caps off. Following that The Roar will be live with Criterium Du Dauphine during June, and then the big one! The Tour de France in July. I'll be live later this morning with NBA as the Golden State Warriors take on the Oklahoma City Thunder at 11am (AEST), and the NRL later in the day as the Canberra Raiders take on the Canterbury Bulldogs at 4pm (AEST). Until next time, It's bye for now.
Sam Brown
Roar Guru
Still an amazing result, if you'd asked him at the start if he'd be hapy with 2nd he would have said OMG YES!!! He will be a contender for many years to come.
Scott Pryde
Expert
So, just repeating then - Rein Taaramae wins the stage, Vincenzo Nibali into the pink jersey. Chavez just couldn't follow the attack when it went today. Brave ride by the Columbian, but his legs failed him at the end.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Chavez will still finish the race in second place overall I believe.
Diggs
Roar Rookie
Wow, brave rides by the top 3!
Scott Pryde
Expert
Majka and Jungels come up to the lead with Brambill and Kruijswijk in next. Chavez will fight all the way to the line, and finish 8:20 down. About 1:36 down on Nibali.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Uran was in the wheel of Valverde. Here it comes, the time has passed. 7:28 goes by and Nibali will win the Giro.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Valverde crosses about 14 seconds later.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Chavez is still fighting but Nibali is pushing every little bit of omentum out of this. Nibali will sprint all the way to the line and he stops the clock at 6:44.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Chavez inside of a kilometre to go, but Nibali has 600 metres to go. 300 metres the difference by the looks of it.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Valverde is coming back to Nibali! Still with Uran in the wheel.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Kruijswijk and Jungels struggling here.