Here’s the report on Stage 15.
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That concludes what has been a fantastic weekend at the Giro, and especially for Simon Yates. Tomorrow is a well-earned rest day, but the time trial, from Trento to Rovereto, follows on Tuesday. It looks like it could decide the destiny of this year’s maglia rosa.
Simon Yates speaks.
“I saw there was a little gap. I asked Jack (Haig, teammate) to push the pace. It was tough from the bottom. I chose my moment to go. They responded to me the first time and I gave everything to get away the second time. I am really emotional. I gave everything. It’s a good gap. He could take two minutes in the time trail in one stage. I am happy with that gap but it could vanish in 35k so we’ll see.”
Mitchelton-Scott cock-a-hoop again as their man wins his third stage.
#Giro101 Just a few cameras at the finish 😅📸🎥⚡️pic.twitter.com/XTXGTKrCQI
— Mitchelton-SCOTT (@MitcheltonSCOTT) May 20, 2018
In summary: Yates brilliant in landing his third stage win, all in the pink jersey, Dumoulin limpet-like in his ability to limit losses. You have to credit the Dutchman for that; he still has a chance of defending his title. Pozzovivo, the veteran at 35 is Italy’s only hope as Fabio Aru collapsed again, having apologised for his Saturday performance. Pinot is also in contention for the podium. Froome, meanwhile, struggled again. It was as if he left it all out on the Zoncolan, whereas Yates did not.
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General classification
- Simon Yates - 65h 57’ 37”
- Tom Dumoulin - 2’ 11”
- Domenico Pozzovivo - 2’ 28”
- Tibaut Pinot - 2’ 37”
- Miguel Angel Lopez Moreno - 4’ 27”
- Richard Carapaz - 4’ 47”
- Chris Froome - 4’ 52”
The final standings of the day show that Yates won by 41 seconds. He has a lead of 2’ 11” on Dumoulin. That really sets it up for Tuesday’s time trial.
An unhappy birthday for Froome, who lost 90 seconds on Yates and looked cooked. The tour treble is off.
Dumoulin is back in the pack, a great recovery ride from him. Looks like Dumoulin got a four second bonus in the sprint to the finish.
Simon Yates takes the stage win!
Now the countdown.
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Yates approaches the finish.
Pinot is chasing hard, and by the end of the day should be Yates’ prime rival. Yates is into the last kilometre.
Yates has been brilliant. Just needs to see this out. He’s into the town of Sappada. And there’s ten seconds as stage winner to claim. That would make it a minute on Dumoulin. Yates into the final gradient.
Froome’s group now approaching Dumoulin who is set to drop out of the top three if this stays the same. Yates is approaching the last 2km.
Yates has lost ten seconds on the chasers, who have sped up. Dumoulin, though, is not one of those chasers.
Dumoulin spat out the back of the chasers’ group. Oh dear. He had tried to pace them along but now Pozzovivo, Lopez and Carapaz, with Pinot, have burned him off. Carapaz led that assault, having refused to do any work in the chase.
Tip of the hat to Sam Charlton, whose email before predicted something like this. Except it was Yates and not Froome and not doing it.
Dumoulin frantically asking for help in this final climb. He isn’t getting it. The gap is at 51 seconds.
Yates has shown the type of adventure we used to see in the 1980s, where individual flair rather than team order ruled the roost. This is a Hinault-style ride.
Breaking clear of the other contenders, and breaking their resolve is how the Grand Tours are won. Few could doubt Yates has been the sensation of this edition of the Giro. He’s now 48 seconds clear! Incendiary stuff.
The power stats show that Yates’ output is way ahead of the chasers, who are still a disoganised rabble. Froome is now 90 seconds behind Yates.
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Seems to be a breakdown in co-operation between the chasers. A couple refusing to do their turn on the front. Dumoulin asked them to help. No dice.
Pinot and Dumoulin are at the head of the chasing pack, which is breaking up. Yates is 33 seconds clear...now it’s 34.
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So, Yates is now in the lead and bails through the 10km mark. An amazing ride from him. Who needs Chris Froome, from a British point of view? Froome is a minute behind Dumoulin and company. That’s a disaster, and surely the end of the dream.
Dumoulin, though, is unflushable and in the five-man chasing group. Pinot, the reluctant descender, is actually leading this one down.
Whither Froome? Brailsford’s bullishness now looking a bit silly. Hubris again.
The gap is now estimated at 21 seconds between Yates and Dumoulin. That’s a gap of 1’45” between them. Yates has been tigerish in his chase of the two minutes he needs to not get overtaken after Tuesday’s time trial.
Yates has 18 seconds now on those five chasers as the descent begins.
Pinot pushes on, with Dumoulin hanging on grimly. Yates enters the final throes of this climb. The descent will be crucial. He will be working solo, and there is a group of four or five who can pace themselves together.
Yates trying to open up even more of a gap. That’s currently around 13 seconds.
Supreme energy and adventure from Yates, who is now in the final 2km of the climb. Pinot is having to take the lead of the Yates’ chasing group. If Yates might not be able to kill off Dumoulin and Pinot, he might just have killed off Froome’s chances.
Dumoulin is having to grind it out here. Though Froome looks in even more trouble. Yates is forging ahead, and looking back to the gap to the Sky Train. And he’s gone again. He’s well away.
Simon Yates has gone for it now! Dumoulin can’t hang on.
There’s been a break in the peloton! And Froome and Team Sky are off the back of a group that includes Yates and Dumoulin. George Bennett goes off the front as the wildcat attacks begin. This will be the pattern of the last 20 minutes.
Chris Froome looks mob-handed as the descent to the final climb begins. Most importantly, Wout Poels is at his side. Denz has now begun the final big climb, the Costalissoio.
There’s been a few brushes of the barriers in this mass descent. Miguel Ángel López, currently holder of the white jersey, just nearly came a cropper at one hairpin bend.
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The penultimate descent of the day, and this is where the nerves kick in. Memories of Richie Porte’s dreadful crash on last year’s Tour will always abound at such moments. At the head of the group, Denz has forged ahead of Ciccone; he’s by far the better descender on this evidence.
Aru is almost seven minutes down from the leaders, and looks very unhappy when the cameras come near to him. A grim face and a rude gesture to the motorbike that was following him.
The descent has begun for the leaders, with the chasing peloton not far behind.
Aru is being accompanied by his team-mates, all trying to nurse him to the line. He looks like he would rather be anywhere than here.
Mitchelton-Scott with the stat attack.
VelonLive data at the @giroditalia: First 110km of very hard mountain stage for GC leader Simon Yates:
— Velon CC (@VelonCC) May 20, 2018
⏱️ Time: 2h54’57”
⏩ Speed: 37.4km/h
⚡️ Power: 260W
A hard day's work for the Maglia Rosa so far, producing 50w more ave. power than at this point yesterday #FeeltheBurn pic.twitter.com/6BMZRqLJY3
Nico Denz and Giulio Ciccone, two riders with youth on their side, are at the head of the race now. They are taking turns over who takes the front in the classic style of the breakaway but the gap has dropped below 45 seconds. Ciccone looks like he wants to stay away, while Denz is struggling rather more.
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Sam Charlton emails in.
This stage has a solo attack up the penultimate climb by one of the GC lads and subsequent glory written all over it.
In the Vuelta, Froome finally battered away his conservative reputation, so maybe he’ll go for the final attack again today, gaining a vital 30 plus seconds? One can dream.
That said, I’ll be more than happy for Yates to win this year, albeit him being from the wrong side of the Pennines.
Sam
Sunweb’s domestiques are picking things up at the head of the peloton to try and haul Tom Dumoulin into a decent position. Chris Froome might be running out of partners. Meanwhile, Fabio Aru looks wretched on this climb. Italy’s big favourite might not see out the stage if his riding style is anything to go by. Like a drunk cycling back from the boozer after last orders.
Chris Froome has been well covered up today. He needs another big one today, but looked fresh on the Zoncolan. So far, the Sky Train has been idling in the sidings. An attack on this climb not perhaps in the plan; the final climb looks to be the place where he launches himself.
Up through woodlands they go, and this looks a brutal climb. Dayer Quintana is dropping off the back of the leading group.
This climb is up the Passo di Sant’Antonio, followed by what looks a lengthy descent from the second category climb. After that, another second category, and then that short-sharp summit finish. The gap between breakaway riders and the pack is 1’49”. Not a big gap as these things go.
Nico Roche did not start at all today, it seems. Igor Anton, who really went for it on Saturday as he tried to win on the Zoncolan again, has also abandoned. That’s four riders who have departed the race today, the heavy cost of the Zoncolan.
Approaching the 40km to go mark.
Michael Woods’ latest breakaway is at its end. He’s back in the pack, as Simon Yates is accompanied by plenty of cover. Seven men from Mitchelton-Scott, in fact.
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There are now three groups ahead of the peloton: Ciccone, Cherel and Quintana are 2 minutes and 30 seconds ahead. Masnada, De Marchi and Visconti are behind them around the 1’24” mark. Woods and Nibali are in the third group, perhaps 30 seconds clear of the pink jersey group.
Quintana and Nibali up ahead sounds more impressive than it might. That’s Dayer Quintana and Antonio Nibali, neither of whom are remotely in GC contention. Their big brothers, Nairo and Vincenzo, both Giro winners, are sitting this one out.
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Chris Lloyd emails in with a brainteaser.
Hypothetically, if the worst were to happen for Chris Froome and his results in this Giro were to be expunged from the records, would that include each individual stage’s results, such as yesterday? Therefore, could Simon Yates find himself promoted retrospectively to stage winner on the Zoncolan, granted an increased number of bonus seconds which could make all the difference in a tight race for the Maglia Rosa?
Only in cycling, eh? Memories perhaps of Andy Schleck “winning” the 2010 Tour de France after Contador was banned. In February 2012.
The leading group comes over the top, and Woods is in touch. Giulio Ciccone (related to Madonna?) took the mountain points. There is a chasing group 40 seconds off the leaders, with the peloton around two minutes back.
The peloton has thinned out again. Some tired legs after yesterday and plenty yearning for the rest day on Monday. Woods is chasing those at the front of the breakaway, but is 51 seconds off them. His mercy mission looks to be have fallen short. The descent will probably bring everybody back together.
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The summit of this climb is not far off, before a long descent preludes the final climbs of the day.
Michael Woods, who tried a burst yesterday on the Zoncolan, has launched himself from the peloton and strung out the field by doing so. Fabio Aru is back in the pack again and doesn’t look too clever. Not a good sign with so much more climbing to come.
70km to go now, and the leading group are making their way up some soggy roads.
The breakaway group, now barely 1 minute 30 seconds ahead, is now on the climb and splintering into smaller groups. And the weather is inclement with jackets being donned in the peloton ahead of the Tre Croci climb.
Talking of Stephen Roche, his son Nico is reported to have abandoned today. There will be no father-son Sappada celebration.
This being 2018, we are twenty years on from Marco Pantani’s Giro-Tour double. Of course, Pantani’s tale ended in desperate, wasteful tragedy. Here’s something from the archives on “Il Pirata”.
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Yates looking relaxed in the bunch, though he has dropped back to chat to his team car and team manager Matt White. Nothing drastic, just routine stuff by the sounds of it, and grabbing a rain bag. Yates has been so cool through this tour. He knows, though, that he needs to get time today, or this could be his penultimate day in pink.
Simon Yates yesterday was either pessimistic, realistic or pragmatic about his chances of overall victory. Or all three.
It’s not enough for me to win the Giro either. The gap is not that big. It’s not a lot. I fully expect him to take that back easily in the TT. We don’t know if I can take back time on each climb, that’s a big statement. For sure he will gain time on me very easily. So I’ll keep trying.
The gap is now around 2 minutes and 30 seconds, which means the peloton are not letting it get too far away. This is something of a lull, with the incline gentle enough. Ahead of them are some fearsome mountains, the Dolomites. Today is the first and only time this tour will visit that mountain range.
The gap is two minutes and 54 seconds.
This breakaway is big enough to last a while, perhaps until the end of the stage. None of its members are GC contenders so there may be two races taking place but there is still 95 km to go.
More on that Stephen Roche 1987 Giro, here from his 2012 interview with Donald McRae.
Today I wouldn’t have been able to stand what happened to me in the Giro,” Roche says after he was threatened and vilified by irate Italian fans of his team-mate Roberto Visentini. Roche took the race-leader’s pink jersey from Visentini when, while disobeying team orders, he broke away in a dramatic example of his individuality. “For the rest of the Giro I had people spitting rice and wine in my face, and Visentini plotting revenge. Back in 87 I said: ‘Do what you want. I ain’t going home.’ That’s a tough statement and maybe it comes from this hard streak in me. I wasn’t giving in.
Actually, the breakaway group, pretty sizeable, made up of 25-30 riders, is away from the peloton. Seems there are some ghosts in the timing machine.
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Those riders won’t be away for long; the gap to the peloton is down to 16 seconds.
The breakaway group now up to nine riders with Sacha Modolo, Alexey Lutsenko, Niccolo Bonifazio, Gianluca Brambilla and Davide Ballerini joining the party.
Some spots of rain on the overhead camera shot. The rain stayed off yesterday, but could be a factor on those closing climbs.
Estimable cycling journalist Daniel Friebe has located an interesting take on one of the places today’s Giro is heading through.
Today the Giro goes through a tiny Dolomite hamlet where the former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard, David Duke, lived in hiding for nearly two years, as mentioned on last night's @cycling_podcast. More on a bizarre story here: https://t.co/Na1Ks6lgCG
— Daniel Friebe (@friebos) May 20, 2018
Roche was the first English speaker to win the Tour and there have only been two since, with American Andy Hampsten following up the next year. Ryder Hesjedal won the 2012 edition, and the likes of Lance Armstrong, Cadel Evans, Bradley Wiggins have all failed to land the Giro. Froome is attempting it this year but needs an amazing turnaround to win it this year. Next year? That may depend on his salbutamol case. Simon Yates may get there before him.
Today’s summit finish at Sappada brings back memories of the 1987 Giro, where Ireland’s Stephen Roche went against team orders and blindsided Roberto Visentini to win the first half of his Giro-Tour double of that year.
Krists Neilands, Dayer Quintana, Nico Denz and Quentin Jauregui are in this break. None of them a GC contender so they will be allowed - for now - to have their fun for a while.
Back to today’s race and there has been a small breakaway, with the peloton, having been well in control so far, allowing it to escape. Previously, Fabio Aru, who had a stinker yesterday, was not allowed such a flight of fancy.
Ireland’s Sam Bennett, winner of two sprint stages in this Giro, has annoyed a few people. He finished dead last on the Zoncolan, and wheelied his way up the climb. Top banter or disrespectful?
Quando passa il primo è bello, ma quando passa l'ultimo... è bellissimo 🍻💪🇮🇪
— Ciclismo Ignorante (@Ciclignorante) May 20, 2018
Sam Bennett punta al Giro Ignorante 🍌
[Grazie a Riccardo, Daniel e Fra]#Giro101 pic.twitter.com/uu3xd7vXzp
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Here’s William Fotheringham’s report from yesterday.
Buongiorno a tutti.
After the thrills and spills of the Zoncolan, here comes the prospect of another four climbs and a summit finish. Lower key, but maybe just as important. Saturday was spectacular but this could be just as grinding. The category 2 climbs at the Giro, of which there are three today, would probably be regarded as hors catégorie in Le Tour, say the shrewdies; the Giro and Vuelta are often tougher tests of the climbers than the daddy of the Grand Tours.
Yesterday shook things up as expected, with Simon Yates gaining extra seconds on Tom Dumoulin and Thibaut Pinot, but maybe not enough with Tuesday’s time trial in mind. Yates needs to take more out of his rivals, as he admitted in the aftermath. Of course, the story of the day was Chris Froome’s stage win, and his climb to fifth in GC. Listening to Sir Dave Brailsford last night, it seems the Sky Train is not yet decommissioned. Sir Dave was in bullish mode, and Froome’s confidence levels were just as high.
Expect to see Froome on the attack again. For him, anything but first is nothing, and he looked like his form had returned. That could make for an exciting day, with the added sight of defending Dumoulin, with his Mourinho-esque defensive tactics, holding on and refusing to break, even when he gets dropped.
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