There’s only three days left of the Giro d’Italia, but the next 48 hours are going to be just killer.
La Corsa Rosa heads deep into the Dolomites on Friday for what is, without question, going to be a very, very important stage. Sure, Rome is close, and the riders can probably smell the cacio e pepe and carbonara waiting for them. But stage 19 offers one final monster test for the general classification riders before the fun stuff on Sunday.
Short but tough day in the saddle
The route from Feltre to Piani di Pezzè is 151 km. Like some of the other tough stages, it’s not too long, but it is packed with climbing. After a calmer opening section, the race explodes with a relentless sequence of mountain passes. It could, and most likely will, shatter the peloton (although given what happened on Thursday with that unpredictable sprint stage, who knows anymore). It is not a day for a guy going for GC to have bad legs.
The first major challenges come with the Passo Duran, a doozy averaging eight per cent, followed by the steep Coi and the Passo Staulanza. But the big legbreaker is unquestionably the legendary Passo Giau.
It’s nearly 10 km at an average gradient of 9.4 per cent. The Giau rises to 2,233 m above sea level.
There’s around 50 km still remaining after the summit, so attacks from the favourites could come far from the finish.
Even then, the suffering is not over. Not by a long shot. After the Falzarego and a fast descent, the riders face the explosive climb to Piani di Pezzè, where gradients ramp toward 20 per cent in the finale. Fun times!
Today is going to be a great watch, and you can stream it on FloBikes.com starting at 7:05 a.m. EDT. Don’t forget, on Saturday you can get a double dose of Giro racing, as the women’s race kicks off too. And there are eight Canadians in it!
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