Majka, Nibali
Four imposing climbs dominated the profile of today’s mountain stage. The first two would tire riders, while the final two would be a deciding factor in the race for the GC. After 170km riding with the GC contenders and with strong support from his teammates, Rafal Majka contested a sprint among his rivals, taking fifth position after a long and tough day in the mountains. Rafal ends the day holding sixth position in the GC standings, with eight stages still left to race.
While the Giro has had mountain stages earlier in this year’s race, today saw the most challenging so far. The 170km route took in four categorised climbs, with two first category and two second category to cross during the course of the day. The parcours was perfect for attacks, with the second set of climbs a potential launch pad for a breakaway before the fast and technical run in to the finish.
From the start, the pace was relentless. The conditions were perfect for a day in the mountains and this showed in the way the early stages of the race were tackled by the riders. In spite of early attacks, the peloton was fiercely pulling these breaks in as soon as they’d started. After nearly forty-five minutes of racing however, a break went – and it was a big one. More than thirty riders – including Manuele Boaro – made their way off the front, and due to the sheer numbers involved, were able to work together to draw out an advantage on the peloton. Moments later, another attack came from the front of the break, and a solo rider went away, with 113km still to go to the finish, but having gained what looked to be a decent advantage, was caught by the breakaway group around 25km later.
In spite of the action further up the road, the peloton was relaxed about the advantage of the breakaway. With most teams having riders up the road, there was every chance the GC contenders in the peloton would use their teammates to bridge to the break and launch an attack later in the stage. An attack from Team Sky from the front of the breakaway was looking strong however, and a solo win was increasingly likely.
In the peloton, Rafal Majka was looking calm and confident. He’d remained with his GC rivals throughout the stage, even as the Maglia Rosa and other GC contenders were dropped. Having dropped back from the break, Rafal had teammate Manuele Boaro to protect him and work with him on the climbs. As the group hit the Cima Porzus and the road hit gradients of 16% on increasingly narrow roads, Rafal looked comfortable and in control, with no signs of suffering even on the steeper sections of the route. With 17km to go, the Maglia Rosa cracked and began to be distanced by the peloton – and while there was every chance of regaining time on the descent, it looked increasingly likely that there would be a new race leader at the end of a difficult stage.
The support of the team has been a key feature in this year’s race, supplementing Rafal’s strong GC performance, as Sport Director, Tristan Hoffman observed from the finish. “Manuele dropped back after it started to heat up behind so he could help Rafal over the third climb and into the last one. It was good to have him there also to help Rafal stay calm. Rafal is definitely growing into the race – he started off quite nervous but he’s more confident in himself now and he can keep progressing here after taking back more time on some in front on the GC today.”
Riding in support of Rafal as well today was Evgeny Petrov, who had crashed on stage 11. While in some pain, Evgeny rode well and he stayed in the group with Rafal for a considerable length of time, supporting his team leader.
At the front of the peloton, the GC attacks started, first from Vincenzo Nibali of Astana. In his element on the final descent, the Italian rider was unable to shake Rafal, who marked him perfectly and held his wheel on the twisting and technical roads, and as the terrain levelled out, the Tinkoff leader was still decidedly among the GC contenders. With less than 5km to go, there was just under two minutes to the solo breakaway rider, who in turn had a minute on the remainder of the break.
As the Team Sky rider crossed the finish line, all eyes turned to the chasing GC riders, who were battling for the Maglia Rosa. The pace in the GC group surged, leading to a sprint finish. Rafal crossed the line in fifth position after a strong ride.
Hoffman was pleased that the stage panned out close to the team’s strategy. “It was an exciting day today and a good one for us as everything worked out well. We wanted to get a rider in the big move early on either to go for the stage or to help Rafal later on and Manuele did this perfectly. Then behind the others were looking good with five guys still in the front split after the race exploded on the first climb.”
After the stage, Rafal was pleased with his performance, and how his teammates supported him on one of the toughest stages of the race so far. “It was a very tough stage but I think we did a very good job. I feel my form getting better each and every day and in the final climb I was really strong. The team overall and Manuele Boaro in particular did an excellent job and I would like to thank them for the effort they put in to support me.”
Tomorrow’s 14th stage is both long and challenging, with seven incredibly tough climbs over a 210km course. The first 95km ride steadily upwards, before climbing five categorised climbs in quick succession. With no time to rest before tackling the final two climbs, there’s a high chance of a late attack for time on the GC, before the descent into the finish in Corvara. Rafal was looking ahead, both to tomorrow’s stage, but also the week still to come before the race’s finish. “As I have been saying from the start of the Giro, it is a long race and we have to fight until the very finish in Turin. There are still a number of difficult stages ahead and we will adapt our strategy every day.”
Ahead of tomorrow’s tough stage, Hoffman was looking for a repeat of today’s strategy, owing to the similarity between the two stages. “Tomorrow is going to be another hard day, with a longer climb at the start but then later on it is quite similar to today, with a first and then second category climb, with a descent to finish. We will take a similar approach to today and be ready to race from the front.”
After a tough stage, Rafal was still confident ahead of a final tough week of racing. “The podium is the goal in this Giro but we face some strong rivals. Nibali and Valverde have shown they are in very good form so far and it will certainly be an exciting battle all the way through.”
Stage Result
1. Mikel Nieve (SPA) Team Sky 04:31:49
2. Giovanni Visconti (ITA) Movistar Team +00:00:43
3. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) Astana Pro Team +00:01:17
4. Alejandro Valverde (SPA) Movistar Team +00:01:17
5. Rafal Majka (POL) Tinkoff +00:01:17
34. Manuele Boaro (ITA) Tinkoff +00:07:40
47. Jesus Hernandez (SPA) Tinkoff +00:13:46
50. Ivan Rovny (RUS) Tinkoff +00:13:46
87. Pawel Poljanski (POL) Tinkoff +00:25:21
93. Evgeny Petrov (RUS) Tinkoff +00:25:21
101. Matteo Tosatto (ITA) Tinkoff +00:32:43
135. Pavel Brutt (RUS) Tinkoff +00:32:43
137. Jay McCarthy (AUS) Tinkoff +00:32:43
GC After Stage 13
1. Andrey Amador (CRC) Movistar Team 54:05:50
2. Bob Jungels (LUX) Etixx-Quick Step +00:00:26
3. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) Astana Pro Team +00:00:41
4. Alejandro Valverde (SPA) Movistar Team +00:00:43
5. Steven Kruiswijk (NED) Team Lotto NL-Jumbo +00:00:43
6. Rafal Majka (POL) Tinkoff +00:01:37
34. Manuele Boaro (ITA) Tinkoff +00:33:17
38. Ivan Rovny (RUS) Tinkoff +00:42:50
48. Pawel Poljanski (POL) Tinkoff +00:50:33
59. Jesus Hernandez (SPA) Tinkoff +01:11:08
62. Evgeny Petrov (RUS) Tinkoff +01:16:08
101. Pavel Brutt (RUS) Tinkoff +01:39:09
109. Matteo Tosatto (ITA) Tinkoff +01:44:29
117. Jay McCarthy (AUS) Tinkoff +01:49:38
