Fresh from a day of rest, the GC contenders would be looking to see who had good legs and who was struggling. With three categorised climbs, stage 16 may have been the shortest stage of the Giro, but after a downhill start, became one of the toughest and most exciting of the race so far. After a massive effort to reduce the gap on the GC breakaway, Rafal finished the stage in ninth position, on a day when one of the race’s favourites cracked on the top slopes of the penultimate climb.
Coming after the final rest day, the 132km route from Bressanone Brixen to Andalo was the shortest of the road stages, but by no means the easiest. The profile was dominated by the second category Passo della Mendola, and while it would tire out the riders and show who had recovered well on the rest day, this was by no means the point where the stage was going to be decided and where the GC race was going to take place. Twenty kilometres from the stage finish was the start of the second category Fai della Paganella, cresting 10km later, before the final third category climb to the stage finish. This is where the day’s decisive move was likely to take place.
With a downhill start to the stage, the breaks went early, hoping to make the most of the fast run-in to the first climb of the day. In the break was Pavel Brutt, and while the gap grew to thirty-seconds and the peloton seemed happy to let the break go, it was pulled in just a few kilometres later. Even on a stage this short, there was still a lot of racing to come though.
After several smaller attacks, once the peloton reached the Passo della Mendola, the GC attacks started, and this time they began to stick. Attacking one by one, a group of GC contenders went up the road. With this, Rafal Majka and a few other GC riders were left down the road, and the forty-second gap the breakaway group had gained would have an impact on the GC standings if it couldn’t be pulled back.
Sport Director, Tristan Hoffman, knew attacks were likely and the stage was going to be fast-paced. “As we expected it was full gas from the start today, with the slight downhill run to the first climb. Then it went straight into the second category climb and the race was on. Rafal was there but just missed the first group when the attacks came towards the top.”
The descent of the back of the Passo della Mendola nearly finished and the Fai della Paganella approaching quickly, Rafal and a group of three took up the chase, leaving the rest of the bunch behind. Within a few minutes they’d used the remaining downhill stretch to their advantage and had cut the gap to the breakaway group in half, picking up the dropped breakaway riders as they went.
Further up the road, and with 17km remaining, the GC contenders were attacking again. While the moves had the potential to create time gaps, these attacks showed who was on form and who was struggling. With the Maglia Rosa and two others in front, Rafal’s group caught the breakaway, and with the greater numbers, the gap of thirty seconds was far from insurmountable.
At just over 10km from bottom to top, the Fai della Paganella was taking its toll. Shortly before cresting the climb was a short, sharp ramp of 15% that would put more hurt into the already tired riders. While the breakaway had twenty-five seconds on the chasers, it was clear that they were in the red and as the stage reached its final 12km the outcome was far from decided and absolutely anything could still happen.
9.7km from the finish and just shy of the top of the penultimate climb, Chaves made his move on the steepest section, but marked expertly by Rafal, found he couldn’t escape alone. A quick conversation between Rafal and his GC rival and it was clear they were going to work together to pull in the gap – but also to put distance between them and Vincenzo Nibali, who was falling off the back and unable to respond. Joined shortly after by four others, at 4.5km remaining, twenty-six seconds was the gap to the front, and Nibali was fifteen seconds behind, this gap increasing rapidly.
Having used a lot of effort to recover distance on the breakaway, there was bound to be some impact on Rafal, explained Hoffman. “For 40km he was in the chasing group at between twenty and forty seconds, and it was just thirty-five seconds at the bottom of the next climb. Chaves kept pulling on the climb and he was able to follow which was good, but he had to set his own pace towards the top.”
After working so hard to keep in touch with the breakaway group, Rafal started to drop back on the final climb of the day, but in spite of this, the Polish rider bravely pushed on to the finish, crossing the line only fifty seconds after the stage winner. More significantly, Rafal finished almost a minute in front of Vincenzo Nibali and some of his other GC rivals. In spite of moving down a place in the overall standings to sixth, there are still five stages still to race, and anything can still happen.
Hoffman had a lot of praise for the team, having been able to support Rafal until later in the stage, where other teams weren’t able to do the same. “We hoped for a little bit more but he’s still in a good place. Pawel Poljanski worked hard for Rafal today between the mountains, and it was good to have him there to help as there weren’t many riders in the front part – it was a very tough day.”
Tomorrow, after four mountain stages, the Giro hits flatter terrain. The 196km route from Molveno to Cassano d’Adda has an undulating first half, finishing with a fourth category climb, before a flat run-in to the finish. Other than some mild bends, this is a rest for the GC riders, who will aim to finish the stage unscathed. While many of the race’s major sprinters dropped out of the race before it hit the mountains, there are still enough to bring some excitement to the end of the stage – but the GC riders could still spring some surprises when least expected. Hoffman was making sure the team kept a close eye on the GC contenders. “Tomorrow I believe there’s a good chance for breakaway with the flatter profile. For the GC guys, it can be a stage to go easier but we always need to stay vigilant and alert.”
Stage Result
1. Alejandro Valverde (SPA) Movistar Team 02:58:54
2. Steven Kruijswijk (NED) Team LottoNL-Jumbo +00:00:00
3. Ilnur Zakarin (RUS) Team Katusha +00:00:08
4. Diego Ulissi (ITA) Lampre-Merida +00:00:37
5. Bob Jungels (LUX) Etixx-Quick-Step +00:00:37
9. Rafal Majka (POL) Tinkoff +00:00:50
30. Pawel Poljanski (POL) Tinkoff +00:10:49
66. Manuele Boaro (ITA) Tinkoff +00:17:21
67. Matteo Tosatto (ITA) Tinkoff +00:17:21
74. Jesus Hernandez (SPA) Tinkoff +00:17:21
76. Pavel Brutt (RUS) Tinkoff +00:17:21
85. Jay McCarthy (AUS) Tinkoff +00:17:21
93. Ivan Rovny (RUS) Tinkoff +00:17:21
111. Evgeny Petrov (RUS) Tinkoff +00:17:21
GC After Stage 16
1. Steven Kruijswijk (NED) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 63:40:10
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 +01:19:06
40. Pawel Poljanski (POL) Tinkoff +01:21:23
43. Manuele Boaro (ITA) Tinkoff +01:25:55
52. Jesus Hernandez (SPA) Tinkoff +01:46:25
73. Evgeny Petrov (RUS) Tinkoff +02:21:17
101. Matteo Tosatto (ITA) Tinkoff +02:38:29
