The Giro d'Italia reaches the Alps, with a first mountain stage inside the Valle d’Aosta. A stage of two halves, where the first is mostly flat, whilst the second is a combination of three ascents which will make for another day where the GC battle is expected to open up.
Unlike today, the 15th stage will be far from explosive, as it sees the return of the long climbs to the stage menu. However, with today's fatigue built up, it may prove to be a fatal day for some.
The first climb will see the riders go up to the village of Pila, it’s 12.2 kilometers long at 6.9% and summits with 72 kilometers to go. It antecedes a technical descent which will lead straight into the second ascent.
Verrogne is the most complicated ascent. 13.9 kilometers at 7.1%, not a particularly consistent ascent however there will be no place to truly rest. As every climb in Aosta, it comes with a very technical descent afterwards back into the valley and the riders will have to be very careful not to loose control. It summits with 40 kilometers to go.
The final ascent into Cogne will be different than the previous two. Longer, but let’s steep. It is also one with much less corners and switchbacks, so it favours the powerhouse climbers much more than the previous two. It’ll make for a good combination, it is an inconsistent climb, that gets relatively easier towards the end. If meaningful attacks are to come they have to come early, and a lot of scenarios can take place in such a stage.
CyclingUpToDate prediction:
**** Richard Carapaz
*** João Almeida, Mikel Landa
** Jai Hindley, Pello Bilbao, Simon Yates
* Alejandro Valverde, Domenico Pozzovivo, Emanuel Buchmann, Lennard Kämna
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