Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images
Jumping straight into it: the 19th stage of the Giro is ridiculous. Three weeks in, after back-to-back-to back 6+ hour mountain stages, the organizers decided that a 258km (originally 252km, but that hardly matters) flat stage would be the best course of action?
No. I fear we see another ‘rider protest’ tomorrow. A slow day with hardly any attacks, a suicidal breakaway consisting of four guys from the Italian Pro Conti teams, and a laboured sprint borne more out of frustration than grit and glory.
It’s impossible for me to say that anyone other than Arnaud Démare wins tomorrow’s stage. The Frenchman has been unstoppable. How would he have fared at the Tour this year? We will never know.
In the first week, many were saying that this year’s Giro field is soft, a bunch of inexperienced young guns and old ‘used to be fast’ guys. On Mount Etna, it almost looked to be the case. The performances there were nothing special, but at the same time, they set the stage for a thrilling GC race where everyone was on a level playing field.
Many crashes and illnesses later, the Giro reached the high mountains, and the performances skyrocketed. 6.3w/kg for 40min is among the very best, and from some names that nobody was expecting. I’m not sure there was anyone in the world – apart from maybe his family – that bet of Jai Hindley to finish on the final podium in Milan. But with three days to go, it seems likely. For tomorrow, it has to be Démare.
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Over in Spain, the sprinters finally have their chance at the Vuelta. A net-downhill stage looks destined to end in a bunch sprint. The winds won’t blow hard enough to cause any splits, but we might still see Movistar try.
If Sam Bennett gets a clear shot at the finish tomorrow, there is no one that will beat him. But I think we might see chaos in the final few kilometers – the full-fledged leadout trains put 90% of their eggs in the Tour de France basket. Some domestiques may be left, but most of them are either at home or in Italy. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a lonely sprinter accidentally hit the front at 500m to go tomorrow, only to be swamped from every angle possible.
Ackermann and Philipsen are the strongest challengers to the Tour’s Green Jersey winner, but both riders lack the pure speed and consistency of the Irishman. All in for Sammy B.