Already a triple stage winner at the Tour de France, Tinkoff’s Polish climbing talent Rafal Majka is looking to build on his leadership performance at last year’s Vuelta a España where he finished on the podium. Having finished sixth at the 2014 Giro d’Italia, Rafal is vying for another podium performance at this year’s race.
Joining Rafal at the three-week is a mix of climbers and all round riders able to support the team leader over the varied terrains of the race. The experience of Matteo Tosatto, Evgeny Petrov and Pavel Brutt, starting their 13th, 11th and 7th Giro d’Italia respectively, will be valuable. They will race alongside Jesús Hernández and Pawel Poljanski who will play a role in the mountains, along with Jay McCarthy, Ivan Rovny and Manuele Boaro, the latter of whom will be keen to shine against the clock in his national race.
Talking about Tinkoff’s line-up for the Grand Tour, Sport Director Tristan Hoffman said: “Rafal Majka is the absolute leader here – if you look to the parcours, his history, how he has been riding in Romandie – so he will be our main card and our protected leader. We have a strong team around him including Pavel Brutt, who after his injury rode a good classics campaign, and will be a strong guy who can pull hard on the flats and go in the breakaways.
“We have Jay McCarthy who proved himself again at the Vuelta last year, and he has got results from the breakaway at the Giro before. Evgeny Petrov and Matteo Tosatto have a lot of experience and perform well at the Giro. We have guys who can pull hard on the flats and others who can hopefully stay with Rafal in the mountain stages, like Pawel Poljanski. Everyone has had a good preparation and is excited to be racing here.”
The 99th Giro d’Italia gets underway on May 6 in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands, with an opening individual time trial over 9.8km before coming to a conclusion over 3,400km later in Torino, at the end of a 163km road stage where the 2016 winner will be crowned. As ever with the Giro, tough mountain stages are interspersed with many other difficulties and it seems at this race that even the straight forward days are never that.
With three time trials, one being a mountain climb, four possible sprint stages, five mountain-top finishes and countless stages in between, the course is for the real all-rounders. There’s even another off-road stage in the race this year, with the climb of Alpe di Poti on stage 8 featuring double digit gradients over dirt surfaces to further complicate things.
“I really look forward to tackling the Giro now, after months of preparation towards one of my biggest goals of the year,” Rafal Majka confirmed when looking ahead to the race. “As a team, we had a good winter, training and getting ready for the season and we have had strong results since starting racing which has built a good momentum. Now we are ready for the first Grand Tour and I’m excited to be leading the team in Italy. I want to do my best for myself, Tinkoff and all my fans.
“We’ve got a strong line-up for the race and it’s really good to be able to draw on the experience at this race from the guys like Tosatto, Petrov and Brutt, and to race alongside Poljanski. I think this is an important strength to have in the team. We have guys that can help me on all the various stages that the race has and then it’s up to me to be there when it matters.
“I’ve seen in Romandie that my form is where it needs to be after a solid period of altitude training in Cyprus with the team and ahead of the Giro. I’m happy with how I’m climbing and I think this is where the real differences will be made.
“Keep your fingers crossed for me!”
As well as the push for the overall classification, the team will be looking to take what opportunities come their way for stage successes over the 21 stages. Manuele Boaro in particular will be looking to get at the sharp end of the results in the individual time trials, of which there are two flat and one uphill stages.
Rafal can draw heavily on the experience of Matteo Tosatto, Evgeny Petrov and Pavel Brutt, with 28 Giro starts between them. From positioning to saving energy, to when to make your move as a team within the race, experience within the team is vital over 21 days of racing.
“In my eyes you can divide the race into three parts – the first days in flat, windy Holland, the rest of the first week in Italy with some tough early tests, and then the final week. You need to be good over the whole three weeks here, but especially for the last tests before Torino, with two tough mountain stages in the last days. Rafal is a rider who recovers well from hard efforts so hopefully he’s still have the legs to challenge here.
“I’m really looking forward to the race now and we can fix a podium spot as our objective, with a stage win also important for us. Everybody is ready to support Rafal, from the riders to the mechanics, the soigneurs and the rest of the staff.”
The Race
Stage 1: Apeldoorn – Apeldoorn, 9.8km (ITT)
The opening stage is the habitual individual time trial procession around the city streets, allowing all the riders in the race to be presented to the public one by one as they pit themselves against the clock over just short of 10km around Apeldoorn. It is the second race start in the Netherlands since 2010 and, much like most of the racing in the country, the stage is set to be a flat, fast affair.
Stage 2: Arnhem – Nijmegen, 190km
Two more stages are to be tackled in the Netherlands before an early rest day on the first Monday of the race. Stages 2 and 3, 190km and 189km a piece, should on paper be perfect days for a bunch sprint, however if the wind blows the race could see some early splits and the riders will need to be on their toes and racing at the front.
Stage 3: Nijmegen – Arnhem, 190km
Following a similar parcours to the previous day, stage 3 marks the final stage in the Netherlands before the race returns to Italy for the remainder of the action. Much like the previous day, although there are no real difficulties en-route, if the wind is blowing, the peloton will have to be ready to fight in the echelons.
Stage 4: Catanzaro – Praia a Mare, 200km
After a flight back to the race’s home in Italy, action resumes on Tuesday with a rolling 200km leg from Catanzaro to Praia a Mare, which with its two small categorised climbs and rolling roads in the finale could see a reduced group sprint. The latter of the two, Via del Fortino, falls with 10km to go and with ramps of up to 18% it will surely shake up the stage.
Stage 5: Praia a Mare – Benevento, 233km
A long stage 5 is again classed as rolling, but has no categorised climbs and could see the sprinters have another shot at glory before the race’s first uphill finish on stage 6. The road rolls for much of the stage, but with the only classified climb falling early in the stage after 35km, the outcome should be one for the fast men.
Stage 6: Ponte – Roccaraso, 157km
Racing from Ponte to Roccaraso over 165km, stage 6 features a short climb right from the drop of the flag before two further climbs, the latter of which ascends for 17km with an average gradient of 4.8km, and will decide the stage, most probably dictating a new wearer of the pink leader’s jersey.
Stage 7: Sulmona – Foligno, 211km
With two categorised climbs that should only really trouble those in the day’s breakaway, stage 7 could see another day for a sprint before a tough eighth day of racing that features two climbs, the second of which crests with 41km to race, all over a gradual downhill to the stage finish in Arezzo.
Stage 8: Foligno – Arezzo, 186km
Combining both flat and mountain roads, the eighth day of racing features two climbs, a third and then a second categorised ascent. After passing the finish line for a first time, the peloton will climb the Alpe di Poti climb, one that features 6.4km on dirt roads and step gradients of over 10% before a fast drop down to the finish in Arezzo after 186km of racing.
Stage 9: Chianti – Chianti, 40.5km (ITT)
Stage 9 is the second race against the clock for the peloton, with a 40.4km individual test which will see the Tinkoff riders back on their Specialized S-Works Shiv TT bikes, looking to cover the course as fast as possible. The rolling route in the Chianti region features a gradual drag of five kilometres in the second half of the stage but should be one for the specialists.
Stage 10: Campi Bisenzio – Sestola, 219km
A second rest day follows before heading back to the mountains on stage 10 with an uphill finish in Sestolla, climbing to 998m altitude after 216km of racing. Without a single metre of flat, the riders will be thankful for the rest day before but will be hoping that they re-find their race legs quickly as the tough stage could again cause splits.
Stage 11: Modena – Asolo, 227km
The sprinters will have thought that stage 11 was another for them, until they saw the final 15km, and its short, sharp climb cresting with just under 12km to race. This may prove the launch platform for late attacks, and do enough to shed the fast men before the race finishes in Asolo.
Stage 12: Noale – Bibione, 182km
The sprinters will have their shot again on stage 12 with a pan-flat 168km leg which will allow the GC riders a day in the wheels, out of the wind ahead of a tough climbing test on stage 13. At 182km, the stage isn’t overly demanding in distance, but after nearly two weeks of racing in the legs, fatigue will be kicking in.
Stage 13: Palmanova – Cividale del Friuli, 170km
Unlucky for some, the 13th day of racing features four categorised climbs, two in the first half and two in the second half of the day, with the top of the final ascent coming just 11km from the finish line. A fast descent and a flat five kilometre run in to the finish will decide the victor today.
Stage 14: Alpago – Corvara, 210km
The profile for stage 14 climbs gradually but incessantly for the first half of the start to reach the first of the day’s six classified climbs in the Dolomites. The finish falls nearly 20km after the final summit of the day so the honours could still be stolen from the pure climbers, and also with an uphill TT looming, how hard will the favourites go. You can expect action on any of the day’s climbs, but the hardest slopes fall on the Passo Giau with an average of 9%.
Stage 15: Castelrotto – Alpe di Siusi, 10.8km
The third of this year’s time trial at the Giro d’Italia is one for the pure climbers and will turn into a real GC battle. Rafal Majka will be looking to put his skills racing uphill to good use today as the 10.8km stage features a 9km climb averaging 8.3%. Expect spits in the GC today.
Stage 16: Bressanone – Brixen-Andalo, 132km
After another rest day the peloton will start out on a rollercoaster of a stage which descends, climbs, descends and then climbs once more before reaching the finish 133km later in Brixen-Andalo. A stage for the breakaway, or will tired legs be exposed on the tough slopes of the Fai della Paganella, cresting at over 1,000m?
Stage 17: Molveno – Cassano d’Adda, 196km
The sprinters will finally get to have another shot at stage glory and at scoring towards the points classification on stage 17, but how many sprinters will still be left in the peloton for the 196km leg from Molveno to Cassano d’Adda?
Stage 18: Muggiò – Pinerolo, 244km
The race organisers nearly gave the sprinters back to back chances, albeit for the final sting in the tail of stage 18, with the short, sharp classified climb of the Pinerolo sure to cause splits before the race flies downhill to the line just 17km later.
Stage 19: Pinerolo – Risoul, 162km
Stage 19 presents the penultimate chance for the GC contenders to really try and stake their claim, and there’s plenty of opportunity for change on the 161km route that climbs the Colle dell’Agnello – the highest point of this year’s race at 2,744m – before then going on to finish atop the 11km ascent to Risoul.
Stage 20: Guillestre – Sant’Anna di Vinadio, 134km
There’s no rest for the wicked though as the road rears upwards once more on stage 20 with four classified climbs, the first coming straight from the drop of the flag up the Col de Vars. The infamous Col de la Bonette follows, scene to many a famous battle over the years, before the riders then tackle the 20km long Colle della Lombarda. A short descent follows with a final kick up to the line in Sant’Anna di Vinadio. Could we see the 2016 Giro d’Italia champion decided on the slopes of this brutal stage? Time will tell.
Stage 21: Cuneo – Torino, 163km
The final stage is, as always, more of a procession than a chance to shine, but it does give the sprinters one last chance to get their arms in the air. The 163km stage from Cuneo to Torino finishes with eight circuits of a 7.5km circuit giving the riders plenty of opportunities to scope out the finish. The stage will bring the curtain down on the first Grand Tour of the season, and it is here that the winner of the 99th Giro d’Italia and its Maglia Rosa will be crowned.
