BARCELONA, 15 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The second week of competition of the Giro d’Italia leaves time trials aside and will be marked by ‘leg-breaking’ stages and by an incursion into Switzerland, in the Alps, which could mark this section of the ‘corsa rosa’ that, however, lost part of the attraction with the withdrawal, after testing positive for coronavirus, of the leader Remco Evenepoel.
Without the Belgian, the fight will have to be carried out by the rest of the candidates, such as Primoz Roglic or Geraint Thomas. And they will do so, for the moment, in a second week that is somewhat calmer, with the stages ending in Bergamo and Crans Montana, in the great alpine finale, as great incentives.
This Tuesday the 16th, after the break on Monday, the Giro resumes with the tenth stage, between Scandiano and Viareggio over 196 kilometers. A “moving” day that will pass through the Tuscan Apennines and end in the Tyrrhenian Sea, on ups and downs up to the Passo delle Radici, although the end will be flat. Ground for escape or mass sprint.
But the ‘bomb’ should be stage 13, on Friday, with 207 kilometers and 5,100 meters of accumulated elevation gain between Borgofranco d’Ivrea and Crans Montana, in the Swiss Alps. An alpine stage that includes the ascent to the Cima Coppi (the highest port of the Giro), this time the Colle del Gran San Bernardo, with 34 kilometers of ascent at 5.5 percent.
After this climb to the highest peak of the ‘Corsa rosa’, the unprecedented Croix de Coeur will arrive (15 kilometers around 9 percent) before the final climb to Crans Montana, 13 kilometers at 7 percent average slope. A peak, on the excursion to Switzerland, which should not be neutral at all.
On Sunday, in stage 15 and before the second and last rest day, the peloton will go from Seregno to Bergamo. A “mountain stage in the city”, according to the organization, since it will be a classic day with up to five levels.
The last one, the visit to Bergamo Alta and its beautiful steep streets, with the Porta Garibaldi and its 200 meters of cobblestones up to Largo Aperto. There will always be slopes greater than 10 percent and with a maximum elevation of 12, a place to attack and gain distance for the descent to the finish line.