The fourteenth stage is the shortest, but by no means the easiest of this edition of the Giro d’Italia. The ride from Santena to Turin is normally the perfect prey for the escapees with 3,000 meters in altitude and little rest between the climbs.
The riders who don’t like climbing or descending only have the first 35 kilometers to look forward to. After that, the trail goes up or down all day, starting with a relatively short climb to the top of Il Pilonetto (4 kilometers at 7 percent).
Then the peloton heads east of Turin to the circuit, which is 36.4 kilometers long and is twice on the menu. The highlight of the course is the climb to the top of the Superga, which was not conquered this year for the first time since 2012 in Milan-Turin.
The 5.1 kilometer climb with an average gradient of 8.6 percent was usually part of the cycling classic. This year the race was held shortly before Milan-San Remo and the climb was removed. More or less to compensate, the climb will be made this year in the Giro.
In addition to the Superga, the Colle della Maddalena is also conquered twice with 3.6 kilometers at 7.8 percent. It then descends to Turin, where the finish line has been drawn where last year’s opening time trial finished: next to the church of Gran Madre di Dio.
The profile of the fourteenth stage.
The profile of the fourteenth stage. Photo: Giro d’Italia
Bouwman still has mountain jersey in his sights
By stepping down from Romain Bardet, Team DSM’s eyes are on Thymen Arensman, who has taken over from Bardet as leader. It remains to be seen how he holds up as one of the revelations in the Giro. He is just under a minute and a half behind rose jersey wearer Juan Pedro López.
In addition, there are several other Dutch people who can give color to the ride. Bauke Mollema, Wout Poels and Koen Bouwman, among others, are able to participate in the flight of the day. Moreover, with only fourteen points behind blue jersey wearer Diego Rosa in the mountains classification, Bouwman has another goal in his sights.
Official start: 1.15 pm
Expected finish time: 5.30 pm
Favorites for day success:
⭐⭐⭐ Davide Formolo, Lennard Kamna
⭐⭐ Koen Bouwman, Simon Yates, Bauke Mollema
⭐ Wout Poels, Diego Rosa, Richard Carapaz