The tone is set for the final week of the Giro d’Italia. After the rest day, the peloton experienced a monstrous sixteenth stage up to the climb of San Valentino on Tuesday. Although Lorenzo Germani and David Gaudu managed to slip into the breakaway to anticipate the fight among the favourites, they couldn’t challenge for the stage victory in the final hour of racing. The Italian ultimately finished in 31st. Wednesday’s stage will feature the Passo del Mortirolo.
It was to be hoped that the Giro riders had made the most of the rest day, as an impressive stage was about to kick off the third week of the event on Tuesday. On paper, it was even the second most difficult stage in terms of elevation gain, with around 4,750 metres of climbing recorded over a little over 200 kilometres. In addition to the four recorded climbs, another difficulty appeared at the start; some heavy rain indeed followed the peloton during the first sixty kilometres, where the fight for the breakaway was once again very furious. Lorenzo Germani initially managed to go clear with five other riders after around fifteen kilometres. The gap gradually rose to thirty seconds, then to one minute, while his teammates tried to cover the countless counterattacks that occurred in the peloton. “We want to be at the front to anticipate and give ourselves a chance to go far and be active in the race,” explained Thierry Bricaud. “Everyone entered the fight at the start, everyone was up there to follow the moves. Lorenzo broke away in his small group, then after an hour and a half of racing, David joined a counterattack. It was a good situation for us.”
“Lorenzo is going very well”, Thierry Bricaud
As the race approached the Carbonare climb, just as everything seemed to be settling down, a chasing group therefore managed to go clear, and David Gaudu was one of the eighteen riders in there. The two groups got together on the day’s first climb, and the peloton then allowed the breakaway to take a large gap, which went up to nine minutes. The leading group crossed the second climb as a whole, then headed for the penultimate climb, up to San Barbara, where David Gaudu was unable to keep his place in front. “I think I’m paying the price for my lack of preparation,” explained the Frenchman. “After 3.5 to 4 hours of racing, I start to struggle and I’m not physically strong enough to keep going. That’s how it is, but I’m going to use these last few days to prepare for the Tour. We’ll keep trying; I have nothing to lose anyway, and I want to be active!” “Every day, it’s getting a little better, but we’re not there yet,” added Thierry. “When you’re in front, it’s obviously to go for the win, but as soon as you realize that you don’t have the legs, you inevitably let go a bit. He tried again, like two days ago, and he’ll try again. The goal is for him to enjoy riding his bike again and gradually get some good feelings back”.Lorenzo Germani followed the strongest riders of the breakaway for a bit longer, before being forced to let them go as well. The Italian was finally caught on the final climb by the group of favorites and reached the finish line in thirty-first place. “Lorenzo rode a very good stage, even if the profile didn’t really suit him,” Thierry said. “He’s not a pure climber, and the penultimate climb was really steep. If he keeps this mindset, he’ll have an opportunity by the end of the Giro. What’s certain is that he’s going very well. The stars need to align, but the guys’ spirit today was still the right one.” On Wednesday, the peloton will climb the Passo del Tonale and then the Passo del Mortirolo before thirty kilometres less demanding. “It’s not an easy stage, but it gives a lot of riders the chance to fight for the stage win,” concluded Thierry. “We’ll have to see if the breakaway can go all the way, or if the GC situation will give ideas to some riders and teams, but I think we’re in for another crazy stage.”
