The Giro’s remaining sprinters and all-rounders could breathe a huge sigh of relief today, as after four mountain stages, it was their chance to take centre stage again. With 196km between them and the finish – and only one fourth category climb, the finale of today’s stage was almost certain to be a bunch sprint. There was no chance of a rest for the GC riders however. Their aim was to stay protected through the day, and to ensure that they didn’t lose any time at the finish as the pace ramped up and the peloton became a risky place to be.
The excitement at the prospect of a relatively flat stage was palpable in the peloton, as the moment the flag dropped, an attempt to break away came. Mirrowing his escape on stage 5 of this year’s race, Pavel Brutt and two others went on the attack and quickly gained a minute on the peloton, which had no obvious desire to bring the escapees back in. This lead grew to two minutes, then four and then to more than five minutes. Pavel and his group were relishing the chance to stretch their legs.
Pavel was pleased to have anticipated the break, but was aware of the control the sprinters’ teams had on the chasing peloton. “It was quite a straightforward day. I tried from the very start to anticipate the move and got away with two riders. However, our breakaway was always controlled by the sprinters’ teams. They kept us tightly under control. We built an advantage of a bit more than five minutes but from there, the peloton steadily closed the gap.”
Having crested the Passo Sant’Eusebio, it was a quick downhill before a 75km flat run-in to the finish. After the peloton had cleared the climb, the gap between them and the escapees gradually started to shrink. With less than 30km to the finish, a three-man chasing group split off from the peloton and started trying to reduce the gap. With the gap between the chasers and the breakaway shrinking, the peloton was upping the pace too, and as the chasers neared the town of Mozzanica, just over 20km from the finish, the chasers caught the break, while the pack was just fifteen seconds behind.
With the escape now a six-man group, there was strength in numbers and a will among the members of this group to stay away. Their pace rising, Pavel’s group began to create distance between them and the peloton, soon leading them by twenty-three seconds. While a slim margin, the work ethic in the group was good, with each rider taking turns to hold the peloton away just a little longer.
The ability of the break to stay away so long was impressive on a flat stage like today’s, as Sport Director, Tristan Hoffman explained. “With three guys out there you think it’s mission impossible, but when the others came across the peloton had to go full gas to catch them so it was a good try and we’re happy with our race.”
After being out front for most of the stage, the chasing group was a welcome addition to the break, even though Pavel knew the chances of staying out weren’t high. “At 20 km to go, we were joined by three more riders but we knew our chances were very slim. Our lead was too small to hold. However, I gave my best and I’m satisfied with my performance. I feel well, despite the natural tiredness that comes after 17 intense stages of the Giro d’Italia.”
With 10km to go, the gap had fallen to fifteen seconds again and it seemed increasingly likely that the catch would be made soon. In spite of this, the break had no intention of giving up – and no intention of being caught, managing to hold out just a little longer. With the absence of any proper sprint trains or real organisation in the run to the finish, the chase wasn’t as frenetic as in the earlier stages of the Giro, but with just over a kilometre to go, the catch was made and almost immediately, the final attacks came. The sprinters were just not able to pull it together, and crossed the line just after one of the attackers took the stage win. Rafal Majka was the first Tinkoff rider home – taking 26th with the bunch, and keeping his hold on sixth spot in the GC.
Compared to the spectacle of the mountains, today’s stage could have been dull, especially with the absence of the bigger-name sprinters, but Pavel’s group’s break livened up the day, as Hoffman explained. “In the end it was exciting for a flat stage, and great to see Brutt up there all day. It’s good for him too as he’s had some days where he’s struggled here, so it’s good for his morale and will give him and the team a lift in this tough last week. Behind, Rafa came home safe in bunch with the other boys, so no problems today.’
With a profile that resembles that of stage 11 – where a single climb at the end of an otherwise flat stage signalled the start of the GC race – stage 18 is also the Giro’s longest stage, at 240km. Flat for 170km before a few short climbs and then the second category Pramartino, the stage will be won – or lost – on the final climb in the last kilometre. The uncategorised San Maurizio has a 20% ramp that will stop riders like a wall. Hard enough with fresh legs, but with 239km in their legs and two weeks of racing, anything can happen here. Hoffman explains. “Tomorrow is a different story, with a second category climb in the final, then a 20% ramp with 2km to go. If a break goes I’m not sure which team will want to control the race on this long stage, so being in the break will be crucial but then when every team thinks the same it makes for a real fight to get into the break. We will aim to be up there and see what we can do for a stage result.”
Stage Result
1. Roger Kluge (GER) IAM Cycling 04:21:29
2. Giacomo Nizzolo (ITA) Trek-Segafredo +00:00:00
3. Nikias Arndt (GER) Team Giant-Alpecin +00:00:00
4. Sacha Modolo (ITA) Lampre-Merida +00:00:00
5. Matteo Trentin (ITA) Etixx-QuickStep +00:00:00
26. Rafal Majka (POL) Tinkoff +00:00:00
46. Manuele Boaro (ITA) Tinkoff +00:00:00
54. Pawel Poljanski (POL) Tinkoff +00:00:00
62. Matteo Tosatto (ITA) Tinkoff +00:00:00
63. Jay McCarthy (AUS) Tinkoff +00:00:00
68. Pavel Brutt (RUS) Tinkoff +00:00:00
75. Jesus Hernandez (SPA) Tinkoff +00:00:00
85. Ivan Rovny (RUS) Tinkoff +00:00:35
107. Evgeny Petrov (RUS) Tinkoff +00:00:56
GC After Stage 17
1. Steven Kruijswijk (NED) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 68:11:13
2. Esteban Chaves (COL) Orica-GreenEdge +00:03:00
3. Alejandro Valverde (SPA) Movistar Team +00:03:23
4. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) Astana Pro Team +00:04:43
5. Ilnur Zakarin (RUS) Team Katusha +00:04:50
6. Rafal Majka (POL) Tinkoff +00:05:34
39. Ivan Rovny (RUS) Tinkoff +01:19:41
40. Pawel Poljanski (POL) Tinkoff +01:21:23
42. Manuele Boaro (ITA) Tinkoff +01:25:55
52. Jesus Hernandez (SPA) Tinkoff +01:46:25
73. Evgeny Petrov (RUS) Tinkoff +02:22:13
98. Matteo Tosatto (ITA) Tinkoff +02:38:29
109. Pavel Brutt (RUS) Tinkoff +02:44:48
110. Jay McCarthy (AUS) Tinkoff +02:45:42
