The last stage in the Giro d’Italia is a time trial of 17.4 kilometers with start and finish in Verona. Rose jersey wearer Jai Hindley defends a 1.25 minute lead over Richard Carapaz to win his first ever Grand Tour, but the Australian will have to deal with a 2020 trauma.
At 1.55 pm, red lantern bearer Roger Kluge is the first to start in Verona. Rose jersey wearer Hindley is last in line and will probably finish around 5.10 pm.
The first part of the time trial goes through the city and is relatively flat. This is followed by a vicious climb of 4.5 kilometers with an average increase of 5 percent. The last part is technically difficult; it goes through the center of Verona, with many sharp curves.
It will be the fifth time that the Giro has finished in the northern Italian city, after the editions of 1981, 1984, 2010 and 2019. Previous Giro winners in Verona are Giovanni Battaglin, Francesco Moser, Ivan Basso and the current number two in the standings, Richard Carapaz.
Strong time trialists such as Tom Dumoulin, João Almeida and Simon Yates already got off this Giro. This creates opportunities for the Dutchmen Mathieu van der Poel and Jos van Emden, who already won the final time trial in the Giro won by Dumoulin in 2017.
The full profile of the final time trial.
The full profile of the final time trial. Photo: Giro d’Italia
Well-known screenplay for Hindley
Hindley defends a 1.25 minute lead over Carapaz after a strong performance in the queen stage. It is not the first time that the Australian starts in pink during the final time trial. That was already the case in 2020.
Then Hindley took off as leader at exactly the same time as Britain’s Tao Geoghegan Hart. The Briton completed the time trial 38 seconds faster than Hindley and won the Giro.
If Hindley does manage to defend the pink jersey this time, he will become the first Australian winner of a Grand Tour since Cadel Evans took the overall victory in the Tour de France in 2011.
Favorites for day success:
⭐⭐⭐ Mauro Schmid, Mathieu van der Poel
⭐⭐ Edoardo Affini, Matteo Sobrero, Lennard Kamna
⭐ Jos van Emden, Thomas De Gendt, Wilco Kelderman
Jai Hindley received the pink jersey after Saturday’s stage.
Jai Hindley received the pink jersey after Saturday’s stage. Photo: AFP