STAGE 15 Preview 2013 Giro d'Italia

 

After several reports of route changes for Sunday’s stage 15 the latest update is that

The original Stage 15 Profile

race organizers RCS Sport have decided to shorten the finish climb to the Galibier by just 4.25 kilometers. The stage will now finish by the Marco Pantani memorial at 2295 meters of elevation, about 350 meters below the original finish at the summit (at 2642 meters). 

Of course the RCS will alter the route again if it is deemed necessary.

At this point they are still including the 2090-meter climb to Mont Cenis which comes at km 58.They will also start 30 minutes later than originally scheduled
 

The first climb, The Col du Mont Cenis

The Col du Mont Cenis is about 25.5 kms long averaging around 7%, with a maximum gradient of 10% in the middle, and if the weather permits, will take the riders over the 2000-meter elevation mark for the first time in the race.

The new finish line is right above the 11% Max mark

The category 2 Telegraphe climb from St. Michel de Maurienne is about 12 km at an average gradient between 7 and 7.5 %, maxing out at around 10% near the top, and boasting 14 hairpin bends. The riders have about a 5km descent to recover a little before passing through Valloire and onto the Galibier, which will now take the riders up to 2295 meters to the Pantani monument. Click the graphs to see the gradients. They will climb up about 14 kms of the Galibier to the Pantani monument, just above the max gradient of 11%.  With a rest day ahead, the contenders may choose to leave it all out on the road today. Although Nibali has shown that he is not a man who will give up time easily.

Il Pirata

The monument marks the point where the late Pantani launched the attack that won him the lead in the 1998 Tour de France. He would hold that lead all the way to Paris. Il Pirata attacked in the cold rain on the Galibier, which was the third of four big climbs on that stage 15 from Grenoble to Les Deux-Alpes. He turned his race around there, going from fourth place, down three minutes, to a cozy lead of almost four minutes. His 1998 Giro-Tour double win was only the seventh ever and stands as the last time that feat has been accomplished.

Here is a list of the 2013 Giro d’Italia abandonments so far:

BATTAGLIN Enrico	BAR
BENNATI Daniele	TST
BERARD Julien	ALM
BOBRIDGE Jack	BLA
BOUHANNI Nacer	FDJ
BRESCHEL Matti	TST
CASAR Sandy	FDJ
CATTANEO Mattia	LAM
CHICCHI Francesco	VIN
DEGENKOLB John	ARG
GEORGES Sylvain	ALM
GIL MARTINEZ Tomas Aurelio	AND
HESJEDAL Ryder	GRS
HOWARD Leigh	OGE
JEANNESSON Arnold	FDJ
JI Cheng	ARG
KROON Karsten	TST
LODEWYCK Klaas	BMC
MILLAR David	GRS
OSPINA NAVARRO Dalivier	COL
QUINTERO Carlos Julian	COL
STEEGMANS Gert	OPQ
TABORRE Fabio	VIN
URTASUN PEREZ Pablo	EUS
VANOTTI Alessandro	AST
VICIOSO ARCOS Angel	KAT
WIGGINS Bradley	SKY

STAGE 14 Race Recap 2013 Giro d'Italia

Saturday May 18, 2013

Weather: Cold and rain, 12 c (53 F) at the start; thick fog, rain, snow and temperatures as low as 1 c (33 f) reported at the finish; More rain forecast;

Course: 180 kms (revised from 168), High Mountains (MTF); from Cervere to Bardonecchia;

This morning race organizers RCS made the cautious decision to cut the Sestriere climb from today’s stage 14 due to excessive snowfall on the 2000-meter high peak. The stage has been lengthened by 12km with a summit finish still expected at Jafferau. The riders will now race for 180 kilometres, through the Val di Susa valley before the final climb to the finish. 

Last night’s news that the stage 15 climb to the Galibier might be cut from the course is still being considered today. Weather on the 2642-meter high peak is persuading the organizers to shorten the climb by about 800 vertical meters to finish in Valloire after climbing the Telegraphe. The first planned climb up the Col du Mont Cenis may be cut from the stage as well, and the new course for stage 15 may be as short as 50 kms. The peloton generally praised the decision to err on the side of caution. Race director Mauro Vegni said he is waiting on further reports from local authorities, but he hopes to salvage the stage if possible.

UPDATE: Both of the high stage 15 climbs have been eliminated from the route.

The riders have begun stage 14 in Cervere.

Rain is falling hard on the course as the peloton take to the road.

Four more riders did not start this morning: Daniele Bennati and Karsten Kroon (TST), Gert Steegmans (OPQ) and Jack Bobridge (BLA).

After about 40 minutes some riders are starting to attempt escapes.

2013 Giro d'Italia STAGE 14 UPDATE:

This morning race organizers RCS made the cautious decision to cut the Sestriere climb from today’s stage 14 due to excessive snowfall on the 2000-meter high peak. The stage has been lengthened by 12km with a summit finish still expected at Jafferau. The riders will now race for 180 kilometres, through the Val di Susa valley before the final climb to the finish.

Last night’s news that the stage 15 climb to the Galibier might be cut from the course is still being considered today. Weather on the 2642-meter high peak is persuading the organizers to shorten the climb by about 800 vertical meters to finish in Valloire after climbing the Telegraphe. The first planned climb up the Col du Mont Cenis may be cut from the stage as well, and the new course for stage 15 may be as short as 50 kms. The peloton generally praised the decision to err on the side of caution. Race director Mauro Vegni said he is waiting on further reports from local authorities, but he hopes to salvage the stage if possible.

Here is the revised profile for today's stage:

Revised Stage 14 Route

STAGE 14 Preview 2013 Giro D'Italia

 

Now there's a happy Manxman

Mark Cavendish held up four fingers when he crossed the stage 13 finish line today, one for each stage he has won. He posted back-to-back wins yesterday and today, but you can bet your life savings that he won’t make it three.

*[You can see my entire recap of today’s and every day’s stage by clicking on the relevant link to the right. Previews for each stage are there too. After a few days the pages can be found under "Blog Archives"]*

Nibali: mentally prepared for the Alps

The stage started without ex-protagonists Bradley Wiggins (Sky) and Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp) who were both ailing and losing time. Matty Breschel has withdrawn from the race following stage 13 as well.

Friday the race moved west across northern Italy. Saturday's Stage 14 takes the riders through the Piedmont region, northwest into the Alps. It finishes on top of the 1908-meter high Jafferau climb in Bardonecchia, right by the French border. On the way the riders will have to make the very long haul up to Sestriere—which itself is 2035 meters high.

Stage 14 Profile

This “easy side” of the Sestriere is a category 2 climb that summits with 43 kms to go. It averages under 4%, but it goes on and on and can drain a lot of energy before the finish climb in Bardonecchia. The peloton will have effectively been climbing for 60 kms by the time they hit the KOM line at the top of the famous Olympic ski village. The measured climb is taped at 17.53 kms, climbing 685 vertical meters, for an average of 3.9%. The main climb is really just over 9 kms long averaging closer to 5.5%, then finishes with a short sprint to the KOM line.

The climb to the finish

After a 21 km descent to Oulx the riders will start climbing again, and after 160kms in the saddle they’ll begin the steep ascent to Bardonecchia. The Jafferau climb to Bardonecchia is 7 kms averaging 9%, but mostly over 10%, and with a maximum close to 15%. The last couple kms average over 10%, so no pretenders will win tomorrow.

Several riders will look for a way to chip away at Nibali’s lead. I think the top GC guys will probably wait until the last couple of kilometers before trying anything serious though. They will need energy for stage 15’s climbing bonanza to the Galibier.

STAGE 14 PICKS:

LIKELY PICKS: One of the pure climbers like Domenico Pozzovivo or Darwin Atapuma. Michele Scarponi and Vincenzo Nibali are also good picks.

DARK-HORSE PICK: Egoi Martinez (Euskatel). If the Basque climber is not stuck chaperoning his team leader Sammy Sanchez up the climbs, he is one of the few experienced veterans out there who could have a chance of winning from a break on a stage that the GC contenders will be gunning for. He is far enough back on GC (at over eighteen minutes down) that he could be allowed to ride away. Whether anyone will be able to stay away is another matter.

MY PICK: Carlos Betancur (Ag2R). The 23-year old is one of several Colombian mountain goats who have a good shot at this stage. He posted good results in some of the Classics this year (3^rd at Fleche Wallone and 4^th at Liege-Bastogne-Liege), he had two top-5 mountaintop finishes at the Tour of the Basque Country in April, and he finished 2^nd on top of the Altopiano climb on stage 10 just a few days ago.

 

STAGE 13 Recap and Results 2013 Giro d'Italia

 
 

Friday May 17, 2013

STAGE 13

254 kms  From Busseto to Cherasco   mostly flat, rolling last 50k

Clear at start, rain forecast, 19c; wind NNW 9 kph; Humidity 65%

The longest stage of this year’s edition starts without two pre-race favorites. Many people’s overall favorite, Bradley Wiggins of Team Sky, dropped out after losing time over several rainy stages. He seemed to fall behind on every descent on the parcours. He and defending champ, Ryder Hesjedal of Garmin-Sharp both became ill during the race. Wiggins was over five minutes off the leading pace and Hesjedal had lost over 32 minutes to race leader Vincenzo Nibali. After another grueling wet stage on Thursday both riders’ teams pulled the plug on their respective leaders. So Hesjedal’s shot at a repeat win is over, as is Wiggins’ hope for the Giro-Tour double.